Twenty Democrats call for respect for American laws prohibiting arming countries that block humanitarian aid.
Washington, DC – Twenty Democratic lawmakers in the United States have urged President Joe Biden’s administration to halt the transfer of offensive weapons to Israel, stressing that the Israeli government has not acceded to American requests for more aid to enter Gaza.
In a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday, members of Congress called on Washington to uphold its own laws that restrict military aid to countries that commit war crimes and block U.S.-backed humanitarian aid. United.
“We believe that continuing to transfer offensive weapons to the Israeli government prolongs the suffering of the Palestinian people and endangers our own national security by sending a message to the world that the United States will enforce its laws, policies and international law selective,” we read in the letter. said.
He added that failure to act would prolong Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war on Gaza, “isolating Israel on the international stage and creating more instability in the region.”
The letter was led by Summer Lee and Greg Casar, who was recently elected to lead the Congressional Progressive Caucus next year, succeeding Pramila Jayapal.
The move is unlikely to convince Biden and Blinken, who have repeatedly pledged their “ironclad” support for Israel, to change course. But it underscores continuing progressive pressure on the U.S. administration over its Middle East policy.
It also highlights Casar as a critic of Israel before becoming chairman of the influential Progressive Caucus.
Today, I am leading 20 members of Congress in demanding that the Biden administration deny offensive weapons to the Israeli military.
U.S. law is clear: if the Netanyahu government does not allow enough food and medicine into Gaza, then the United States cannot send weapons. pic.twitter.com/NHhhZMuGt1
– Congressman Greg Casar (@RepCasar) December 17, 2024
The congressional statement focuses on the Biden administration’s ultimatum to Israel in October, when U.S. officials warned Israel in a letter to allow humanitarian aid to flow to Gaza within 30 days or face sanctions. suffer consequences.
Although several humanitarian groups said Israel had not met conditions set by Washington to improve the situation in Gaza, the Biden administration said after the deadline that it would continue providing weapons to Israel.
“Although Israel has made minimal progress in some areas, it has failed to meet the minimum standards outlined in the administration’s own letter,” the lawmakers wrote.
For example, U.S. officials demanded permission to transport 350 aid trucks to the besieged Palestinian territory. But an average of 42 trucks were allowed to enter Gaza daily during this 30-day period.
In fact, humanitarian groups – including the Norwegian Refugee Council, Oxfam, Refugees International and Save the Children – have accused Israel of taking “steps that have significantly worsened the situation on the ground, particularly in northern Syria.” Gaza” after the American warning.
“Israel has failed to comply with its ally’s demands – at enormous human cost to Palestinian civilians in Gaza,” the groups said in a joint statement last month.
A stifling Israeli blockade has caused a deadly famine in Gaza. The war, which has destroyed large parts of Gaza, has killed more than 45,000 people, according to local health authorities.
United Nations experts and several rights groups have accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza – an attempt to destroy the Palestinian people in part or in whole.
The International Criminal Court last month issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes in Gaza, including using hunger as a weapon of war.
But the United States remained steadfast in its support for its ally. A recent Brown University study estimates that the Biden administration provided $17.9 billion to Israel to help finance the first year of the war on Gaza.
Tuesday’s congressional letter coincided with the filing of a lawsuit by Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank and the United States seeking to force Washington to end its military support for Israeli army units engaged in human rights violations.
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