Democratic effort to block Biden weapons sale to Israel gains momentum: ‘Congress must step up’

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the Democrat from Massachusetts, indicated that she is in support of a Joint Resolution of Disapproval introduced by Vermont Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders last week, which seeks to block President Biden’s latest arms sale to Israel. 

Sanders said he plans to bring a vote on the resolution some time this week, citing Israel’s violation of international law in its failure to adequately provide humanitarian aid to Gazans amid the nation’s ongoing war with Hamas . Meanwhile, in a statement shared with The Guardian, Warren indicated that she, too, is in favor of halting Biden’s latest weapons sales to Israel for the same reason. 

“On October 13, the Biden administration told Prime Minister Netanyahu that his government had 30 days to increase humanitarian aid into Gaza or face the consequences under U.S. law, which would include cutting off military assistance,” Warren’s statement reads. 

“Thirty days later, the Biden administration acknowledged that Israel’s actions had not significantly expanded food, water and basic necessities for desperate Palestinian civilians. Despite Netanyahu’s failure to meet the United States’ demands, the Biden administration has taken no action to restrict the flow of offensive weapons.”

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Last month, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin penned a letter to Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, informing him that if the humanitarian situation in Gaza did not improve over the next month, the U.S. may choose to restrict its future military support to Israel as it continues to wage war against Hamas in Gaza and against Hezbollah in Lebanon. The letter laid out specific steps for Israel to take, including boosting the amount of aid trucks let in to Gaza to 350 per day.

The U.S. ultimately determined, following the 30-day deadline, that while Israel had only made limited progress, it was not in violation of international law. But this conclusion did not sit well with Israel’s critics. 

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“Israel’s actions failed to meet any of the specific criteria set out in the U.S. letter. Israel not only failed to meet the U.S. criteria that would indicate support to the humanitarian response, but concurrently took actions that dramatically worsened the situation on the ground, particularly in Northern Gaza,” a group of humanitarian aid groups wrote in a report. 

The joint resolution of disapproval being put forth by Sanders and backed by Warren is a legislative tool used to reverse actions taken by the executive branch.

“The failure by the Biden administration to follow U.S. law and to suspend arms shipments is a grave mistake that undermines American credibility worldwide,” Warren said in her statement of support for Sanders’ resolution. “If this administration will not act, Congress must step up to enforce U.S. law and hold the Netanyahu government accountable through a joint resolution of disapproval.”