Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan) sharply condemned President Joe Biden on Monday after his administration sent notice this weekend that it has invoked emergency powers to bypass Congress and send Israel more weapons as it continues its genocidal assault on Gaza.
Late Friday, the State Department sent notice to Congress announcing that it had created an emergency declaration for the sale of $106 million worth of tank ammunition – representing about 14,000 shells – to be transferred immediately to Israel. By using emergency authority, the administration chose to circumvent Congress’s normal approval process for sending military aid to foreign governments.
The move provoked ire from Tlaib, who issued a scathing statement in response.
“Our district didn’t send President Biden to the White House to have him facilitate the killing of innocent civilians. We didn’t turn out in huge numbers to elect President Biden to have him supply the bombs for a genocide,” she said. “This Administration’s refusal to acknowledge the human dignity of Palestinians is disturbing, and actions like this speak loud and clear.”
The lawmaker went on to assert that Biden is putting the U.S. at risk of being prosecuted for war crimes if he continues on this path. The Biden administration has already been covertly sending weapons to Israel, keeping the types and numbers of weapons hidden from the public — and is pushing to be able to conduct arms deals with Israel directly, without intervention or oversight from Congress or the public.
“President Biden has seen refugee camps, hospitals, schools, and entire neighborhoods bombed. He’s seen dead children pulled from the rubble in their pajamas, and rather than work for a ceasefire, he’s sending more weapons to keep the massacres going,” Tlaib said. “This decision to give weapons to a military that is very publicly and actively committing serious war crimes and crimes against humanity — something the President and his team are well aware of — puts the Administration and American officials at serious risk of prosecution by the International Criminal Court.”
“We will remember,” Tlaib warned.
Israeli forces have already used U.S. weapons extensively in their bloody invasion of Gaza as they bombarded and forcibly evacuated the northern part of the strip. Israel is now expanding its ground operations into the South. So far, nearly 18,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed since October 7, and more than 49,000 have been wounded.
The U.S. has been singular in its support of Israel’s slaughter. On Friday, the U.S. was the only country in the 13-member UN Security Council to vote against a resolution calling for an immediate release of all hostages and a ceasefire, thus vetoing the resolution.
Pro-Palestinian advocates have said that the U.S. bears great responsibility in the current assault. In a statement in reaction to the U.S.’s Security Council veto, Doctors Without Borders USA Executive Director Avril Benoît said that the U.S. is “complicit in the carnage.”
“By vetoing this resolution, the US stands alone in casting its vote against humanity,” said Benoît. “By continuing to provide diplomatic cover for the ongoing atrocities in Gaza, the US is signaling that international humanitarian law can be applied selectively — and that the lives of some people matter less than the lives of others.”
Tlaib and other progressives have been vocal in their opposition to the Biden administration’s support of Israel as it slaughters Palestinians en masse, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) also condemned the Biden administration after the vote.
“Shameful,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “The Biden Admin can no longer reconcile their professed concern for Palestinians and human rights while also single-handedly vetoing the UN’s call for ceasefire and sidestepping the entire U.S. Congress to unconditionally back the indiscriminate bombing of Gaza.”
Countdown is on: We have 10 days to raise $50,000
Truthout has launched a necessary fundraising campaign to support our work. Can you support us right now?
Each day, our team is reporting deeply on complex political issues: revealing wrongdoing in our so-called justice system, tracking global attacks on human rights, unmasking the money behind right-wing movements, and more. Your tax-deductible donation at this time is critical, allowing us to do this core journalistic work.
As we face increasing political scrutiny and censorship for our reporting, Truthout relies heavily on individual donations at this time. Please give today if you can.