Senator Bernie Sanders has vowed to force votes on two separate measures that would bar $8.8 billion in proposed weapons sales to Israel, demanding that Washington end its “complicity in the carnage” in the Gaza Strip.
In a statement issued Thursday, Sanders (I-Vermont) said he would compel votes on a pair of “Joint Resolutions of Disapproval” next week to block the arms deals, which would include more than 35,000 2,000-pound bombs.
“These sales… would provide $8.8 billion in bombs and other munitions to Prime Minister Netanyahu’s extremist government to continue its destruction of Gaza. Netanyahu has clearly violated US and international law in this brutal war,” Sanders said, adding that the war has been carried out “almost entirely with American weapons and some $18 billion in US taxpayer dollars.”
The administration has approved a flurry of arms sales to Israel in recent weeks, including 3,000 AGM-114 Hellfire Missiles for $660 million, and two massive deals for other munitions and guidance kits worth $6.75 billion and $2.04 billion, respectively.
The senator went on to cite the dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza, noting that no aid has entered the enclave for nearly one month thanks to a “complete blockade” by Israel’s military.
“That’s no food, water, medicine, or fuel since the start of March. Blocking humanitarian aid is morally abhorrent and a clear violation of both the Geneva Convention and the Foreign Assistance Act,” he said.
More than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its military operations in October 2023, including 17,000 children, according to local health officials. Another 113,000 have been wounded.
Sanders’ effort is likely to face major opposition in the upper chamber, which overwhelmingly voted down similar resolutions last November, even with Democrats in the majority. No Republicans supported the earlier move, while just 19 Democrats backed at least one of the measures.
According to the Associated Press, no foreign arms deal has ever been successfully blocked through a joint resolution. Though Congress can attempt to bar weapons sales through resolutions of disapproval under the Arms Export Control Act (AECA), none have survived a presidential veto.
Will Porter is assistant news editor and book editor at the Libertarian Institute, and a regular contributor at Antiwar.com. Find more of his work at Consortium News and ZeroHedge.
