The US House of Representatives on Thursday passed the bill that would provide $1 billion in funding to Israel’s Iron Dome. The 420-9 vote came two days after the funding was removed from a broader spending bill to prevent a government shutdown and suspend the nation’s borrowing limit.

The bill was introduced in the House on Wednesday. It provides $1 billion to replace the Israeli missile interceptors used during the May conflict. 

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“Thanks to all members of the US House of Representatives, Democratic and Republican alike, for their sweeping support for Israel and the commitment to its security. Those who try to challenge this support got a resounding response today,” Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said in a statement. The bill will now be presented in the Senate. 

Some liberal Democrats opposed the bill citing human rights concerns. Israel said most of the 4,350 rockets fired from Gaza during the conflict were blown out of the sky by Iron Dome interceptors.

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“We should also be talking about the Palestinian need for protection against Israeli attack,” Democratic Representative Rashida Tlaib said during debate, as per Reuters. 

The bill was initially included in the must-pass legislation that the House considered earlier in the week. But the provision was removed from the final version after some progressives said they would sink the legislation unless that funding was struck from it. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer created a separate bill to bring to the floor under suspension, which means it bypassed the normal rules required to pass the bill and required a two-thirds majority to pass.

The Iron Dome Aerial Defense System intercepts rockets midair, destroys them before they can kill civilians living in Israel. 

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The US had provided $1.6 billion to Israel for the Iron Dome batteries as of November 2020, CNN quoted according to Congressional Research Service.

 Tlaib and Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar tweeted their disapproval of the funding ahead of the vote. 

 “Given the human rights violations in Gaza, Sheikh Jarrah, and ever-growing settlement expansion, we should not be ramming through a last-minute $1 billion increase in military funding for Israel without any accountability,” Omar said.