Delegates to the Democratic National Convention, which began in Chicago on Monday, August 19, 2024, voted to adopt the party's new 2024 platform, which pledges "uncompromising" support for Israel amid its genocidal war on the Gaza Strip with full American backing.

“President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris believe that a strong, secure, and democratic Israel is vital to U.S. interests,” the program says, and that “their commitment to Israel’s security, its qualitative military edge, its right to defend itself, and the 2016 Memorandum of Understanding is steadfast.”

The 2016 MOU is an agreement reached during the administration of former President Barack Obama in which the United States committed to providing Israel with $3.8 billion in military aid annually from 2019 to 2028.

The strong commitment to arming Israel comes amid protests at the Democratic National Convention against Vice President Kamala Harris, a 2024 candidate, committing to an arms embargo on Israel. But Harris is not expected to change U.S. policy toward Israel.

The Democratic Party platform also claims that President Biden was working for “peace” in the Middle East and a ceasefire in Gaza. But his administration refuses to use its leverage over Israel to force a deal, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to sabotage the chances of reaching a deal with Hamas.

The 92-page platform boasts of Biden’s new military interventions in the Middle East, including a bombing campaign against the Houthis in Yemen, which only escalated the situation in the Red Sea, and the US defense of Israel from an Iranian attack last April.

Iran fired more than 300 missiles and drones at Israel in response to the Israeli bombing of the Iranian consulate in Damascus. “Through direct defensive action by the U.S. military and its partners, the Iranian munitions did not cause significant damage, demonstrating America’s strong commitment to Israel’s security and our unparalleled ability to leverage growing regional integration among U.S. partners to counter Iranian aggression,” the program said.

The new Republican platform, adopted at the party’s convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in July, is much shorter but also offers support for Israel, the only foreign country mentioned in a positive light. “We will stand with Israel and seek peace in the Middle East,” it says. The Democratic platform lists the proxy war in Ukraine and the U.S. military buildup in the Asia-Pacific region as accomplishments of the Biden administration. The platform says Biden has recognized China as “America’s most important strategic competitor,” in line with the Pentagon’s view that China is the greatest threat facing the United States.