Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) has introduced a joint resolution of disapproval seeking to block the sale of more than $20 billion worth of American weapons to Israel, following up on a promise he made on the Senate floor last week.
Although Sanders concedes that Israel does have a right to respond to the terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas last October, he maintains that Israel is targeting not only Hamas but all of the Palestinian people, as evidenced by the fact that they have already killed more than 41,000 people there and injured more than 95,000. Making matters worse, 60% of these are elderly people, women and children.
Sanders says that helping Israel in its acts is not just unethical; it is also against the law. He cites the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, which specifies that countries that deliberately block U.S. humanitarian aid are not eligible to receive security assistance from the U.S.
He also drew attention to some of the policy implications of continuing to sell arms to Israel. While the Biden administration says that it has been trying to coordinate a ceasefire deal to allow more aid into Gaza while releasing the Israeli hostages taken by Hamas, Netanyahu keeps coming up with new demands that cause talks to collapse. Sanders theorizes that Netanyahu is simply trying to keep the war going so he can stay in power as he is widely expected to be prosecuted for corruption when he is no longer in office.
Therefore, given that the U.S. policy is pursuing a ceasefire for hostage deal in Gaza to prevent further escalation, it does not make sense to keep supplying Israel with more weapons that they are using for attacks that put such deals in danger.
Sanders also drew attention to the fact that Israel has been bombing hospitals and schools, destroying infrastructure and housing in Gaza, starving children and generally making “life unlivable” there. We simply cannot continue to provide them with the weapons they are using to cause so much harm and carry out these genocidal acts that have been going on for almost a year now.
Sanders was joined in the resolution by Senators Peter Welch (D-Vermont) and Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) in calling for blocking the sales of 120mm tank cartridges and high-explosive mortar cartridges, Joint Direct Attack Munitions and enhanced receivers. He and Welch also called for blocking the sale of modified M1148A1P2 Medium Tactical Vehicles, while Sanders alone wants to block the sale of 50 F-1IA aircraft, weapons, parts and upgrade kits.
“Sending more weapons to Netanyahu's extremist government is immoral & illegal: U.S. weapons are responsible for far too many civilian casualties in Gaza. We must end our complicity in this atrocity,” he posted on X.
Sanders' resolutions are unlikely to pass, but they'll send a strong message to Israel
When Sanders announced last week that he was working on these resolutions, many believed that it was a long shot. Nevertheless, it represents the most notable pushback from Congress so far when it comes to Israel’s actions in Gaza. The resolutions will eventually force a vote on blocking the sales of arms to Israel, although they are unlikely to pass despite Sanders already having some backing for his proposal.
Nevertheless, Sanders took the opportunity to remind everyone: “Much of this carnage in Gaza has been carried out with U.S.-provided military equipment.”
Even if the measures do not pass, it will still send a strong message to Israel and Netanyahu that it is starting to lose the bipartisan support from the U.S. that it has long enjoyed thanks to its genocidal acts in Gaza.
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