Van Hollen Leads Push to Strip Israel Defense Mandates From NDAA
Sen. Chris Van Hollen and 11 colleagues urged congressional leaders to strip three provisions from the fiscal 2027 defense bill that would mandate deeper U.S.-Israel military technology cooperation and intelligence sharing.
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A letter from 12 U.S. senators reached congressional leaders this week, asking them to drop three provisions from the fiscal 2027 National Defense Authorization Act that would require deeper U.S. defense and intelligence cooperation with Israel.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen led the letter, which 11 colleagues signed, including Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, an addressee, did not sign.
They said the measures would constrain independent U.S. security decisions, despite their concerns over Israeli government actions in Gaza and the West Bank.
Defense Technology Mandates
Two of the provisions — Section 1217 of the Senate bill and Section 219 of the House-passed version — would require a United States-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative.
In the November 10 letter, the senators said that initiative would expand technology sharing, weapons co-production, and joint research in artificial intelligence, cyberwarfare and quantum technology.
House and Senate negotiators must still reconcile the two bills in conference, giving opponents another chance to strip the language. The demand comes as Israeli defense firms have already built a deeper presence inside the U.S. military-industrial base.
Leverage Over American Weapons
“The agreements and projects these provisions envision threaten U.S. national security interests by handing Israel leverage over American weapons systems and military technology,” the senators wrote.
“Should these provisions be enacted, it would further increase Israel’s leverage over the United States through some of the most sensitive technologies in warfare. That is not in the U.S. interest.”
They argued the concern was not hypothetical, saying Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government had already used a missile-defense co-production agreement to block American Iron Dome batteries from reaching Ukraine.
They warned that embedding Israeli technology in the U.S. defense industrial base could make future policy changes costly or difficult. President Donald Trump, they added, could still enter new agreements under existing law.
The letter also criticized a Netanyahu-backed push to recast military assistance as a less transparent “partnership,” as Washington and Jerusalem have already discussed scaling back direct aid.
Intelligence Sharing Limits
Section 618 of the fiscal 2027 Intelligence Authorization Act, usually folded into the NDAA, would require the executive branch to “expand and enhance intelligence sharing with the Government of Israel” and bar that sharing from being “suspended, reduced, or otherwise materially limited.”
“The provision would tie the President’s hands from limiting intelligence sharing with Israel, even when doing so may be necessary to protect U.S. national security,” the senators wrote.
They called the restriction irresponsible, citing public reports that the Defense Intelligence Agency had raised the counterintelligence threat from Israel to its highest level.
They asked congressional leaders to exclude Sections 1217, 219 and 618 from the conference report.
Kamer Kurunç
Kamer Kurunç is the Team Leader of Clash Report and has led the outlet for four years. He oversees its breaking world news coverage, from the Middle East and the Russia-Ukraine war to defense and global politics. His focus is fast, verified, source-based reporting. Follow him on X at @kamerknc.
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