The 269 – 144 vote in favor of the bipartisan amendment, backed by 62 Democrats and 207 Republicans, will now go to the Senate for consideration.
The majority of members of the US Congress, including more than 60 Democrats, have voted in favor of an amendment that would bar the State Department from using the Gaza health ministry’s count for the death toll in Gaza.
The vote pushes forward a piece of legislation that, if it passes, could further silence the discussion within the US government about the devastating impact that Israel’s war on Gaza has had on the enclave’s Palestinian population.
The amendment, a part of the State Department’s annual appropriations bill, passed on Thursday with a 269-144 vote. Sixty-two Democrats joined the vote, while only two Republicans did not vote in favor of it.
Palestinian-American congresswoman Rashida Tlaib slammed the vote, which observers say is an attempt to hide the scale of the devastation wreaked on Gaza by Israel.
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