On Thursday, the Senate killed an effort by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) to block $8.8 billion in bombs and other munitions shipments to Israel, a vote that came on the same day Israel killed more than 100 Palestinians, including many children, in the Gaza Strip.
Sanders introduced two resolutions: one to block a $2.04 billion deal for 35,329 MK 84 2,000-pound bombs and 4,000 I-2000 Penetrator warheads and one to block the $6.75 billion shipment of 2,800 500-pound bombs, 2,166 Small Diameter Bombs, and tens of thousands of JDAM guidance kits.
The measures failed in a vote of 15-83 and 15-82. Only 14 Democrats joined Sanders in supporting the legislation, and no Republicans supported the effort.
“Israel has bombed indiscriminately, killing civilians, journalists, paramedics, children, and humanitarian workers in record numbers,” Sanders said in remarks on the Senate floor before the vote.
“They have used massive 2,000-pound bombs in densely-populated Gaza, despite the fact studies show that 90 percent of victims of explosive weapons used in a populated area are civilians,” the senator added.
Sanders pointed out that US military aid to Israel is illegal under US foreign assistance laws that ban providing weapons to countries violating international law and blocking humanitarian aid.
“The Foreign Assistance Act and the Arms Export Control Act, what we’re talking about today, are very clear: the United States cannot provide weaponry to countries that violate internationally recognized human rights or block US humanitarian aid,” Sanders said.
The Vermont senator also detailed some of the atrocities Israel has committed in Gaza with US support and the heavy toll it has taken on children. “These children are hungry. They are thirsty. It is hard to get clean water. They have been denied healthcare, and have witnessed the death of their parents, their family members, their homes, and virtually everything around them,” he said.
