The US House of Representatives voted on Friday to withhold $200 million in US military aid to Egypt due to Egyptian failure to prevent weapons-smuggling into Gaza and ongoing human-rights violations.
The bill also explicitly bars the government from passing funds to Hamas and prevents diplomatic relations with Libya until families of those killed in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103 are compensated.
The Egyptian aid could be transferred once US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice officially confirms that Egypt is, in fact, doing its best to prevent the smuggling of weapons from the Sinai to Gaza.
The vote was part of the annual foreign aid bill, which totals $34.2 billion for the fiscal year beginning October 1.
The motion passed by a vote of 241-178. The Senate has not yet debated the bill.