House Democrats critical of Netanyahu but still stand against Hamas, call for defense aid bill vote

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries along with party members urged their Republican counterparts to call a vote for the defense bill which passed through the Senate early Tuesday. 

"This is a dangerous world, and everything is interconnected," Jeffries said. "And that it's important for us to stand with our democratic allies in Israel as it fights an existential war against Hamas, a brutal terrorist organization."

"The only way for this to be a just and lasting peace for both Israel and the Palestinian people is for Hamas to be decisively defeated," Jeffries said. 

"It's important for us to step in and make sure that Israel has the ability to do just that, in the best interest of Israel, the Palestinian people, the region, and the free world," Jeffries said. 

Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-CA), who spoke of his service as a Marine veteran, said it's not incompatible to support Israel with the resources needed to go after Hamas while also urging them to abide by international law to ensure the loss of innocent civilians doesn't continue. 

"Those are two important goals to keep in mind. And this national security supplemental provides us the resources to achieve both," Carbajal said. 

Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA), also a Marine veteran, said ardent supporters of Israel and ardent supporters of the Palestinians should all want Hamas gone. 

"Palestinians and Israelis will never be free and secure if Hamas is in charge," Moulton said. 

Despite support for the bill, there were criticisms of how Netanyahu is handling the war

According to Moulton, he doesn't think Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's prosecution of the war is going too well. 

"I think he's killing too many civilians," Moulton said. "And ultimately, if you kill terrorists, but you kill a lot of civilians, it inspires more terrorists to join the cause, and you're not winning."

Moulton said it's okay for the US and Israel to have that disagreement, but the US can help Israel learn lessons from mistakes made in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

"So that we can actually have Palestinian rights, Israeli security, and a two state solution," Moulton said. 

The representatives all highly criticized former President Donald Trump, accusing him of playing politics and interfering with the MAGA wing of the Republican party to not bring the bill to the House floor.