Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and two other senators have introduced resolutions that will force the Senate to undertake the first-ever vote in Congress on blocking weapons to Israel.
On Wednesday, Sanders introduced six resolutions blocking six sales of different weapons contained within the $20 billion weapons deal announced by the Biden administration in August. The sales include many of the types of weapons that Israel has used in its relentless campaign of extermination in Gaza over the past year.
The senator said it is clear that the sales must be blocked as Israel openly violates humanitarian guidelines — making it a violation of multiple U.S. laws to continue funding its military, Sanders said.
“Sending more weapons is not only immoral, it is also illegal. The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the Arms Export Control Act lay out clear requirements for the use of American weaponry – Israel has egregiously violated those rules,” said Sanders. “There is a mountain of documentary evidence demonstrating that these weapons are being used in violation of U.S. and international law.”
According to Sanders’s office, the Senate will vote on the resolutions in November, when the Senate reconvenes. The resolutions, known as Joint Resolutions of Disapproval, are privileged, meaning that Sanders can essentially bypass Senate leadership to force a vote on the legislation.
This will be the first time in history that Congress has ever voted on legislation to block a weapons sale to Israel, as the Institute for Middle East Understanding Policy Project pointed out. This is despite the U.S. having sent Israel over $250 billion in military assistance in recent decades, according to analyst Stephen Semler, as Israel has carried out ethnic cleansings and massacres across Palestine and in Lebanon.
Two senators, Peter Welch (Vermont) and Jeff Merkley (Oregon) joined Sanders in introducing four of the sales — the sales of JDAMs and JDAM receivers, tank cartridges and mortar cartridges. Welch joined Sanders in blocking the sale of tactical vehicles, while Sanders was alone in introducing the resolution to block the largest portion of the sale — $18.8 billion worth of fighter aircrafts and F-15 upgrades.
The JDAMs, or kits that turn unguided bombs into “smart,” precision weapons that Israel has used extensively to kill Palestinian civilians in Gaza, are slated for “imminent delivery,” according to Sanders’s office. The other equipment is slated to be delivered over the next few years.
Sanders spoke about the need for the sales to be blocked in a speech on the Senate floor last week.
“The whole world has witnessed Israel’s restriction of humanitarian aid. The UN and virtually every humanitarian group says that Israel’s restrictive policies are the primary cause of the humanitarian catastrophe now taking place in Gaza. The [Biden] administration says as much,” said Sanders. “No matter how people here in Washington may try to spin it, the simple fact is that we must end our complicity in Israel’s illegal and indiscriminate military campaign.”
The resolutions are not likely to pass; even if they did pass the heavily pro-Israel Congress, they would likely be vetoed by President Joe Biden, who has been insistent on sending weapons to Israel with no strings attached.
However, Sanders’s move is in line with public opinion. Polls have consistently found that the majority of the public supports an end to Israel’s genocide; a poll by the Institute for Global Affairs released this week found, for instance, that a majority of Americans think the U.S. should stop supporting Israel or make support contingent on Israeli officials’ agreement to a ceasefire deal. This includes nearly 80 percent of Democrats.
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