Post by Webster on Jan 16, 2024 17:23:26 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Bernie Sanders to force Senate vote on potentially freezing military aid to Israel
The Senate will vote on a resolution that would freeze military aid to Israel unless the Biden administration looks into potential human rights abuses in Gaza. If passed, the resolution would require the State Department to produce a report within 30 days examining any human rights violations committed during Israel’s blockade and invasion of Gaza in the aftermath of the Hamas attacks on 7 October.
The resolution has little chance of passing given the overwhelming support for security assistance to Israel in Congress.
The measure was forced to the floor by Senator Bernie Sanders, who last week spoke on the Senate floor: In essence, we will be voting on a very simple question: Do you support asking the State Department whether human rights violations may have occurred using U.S. equipment or assistance in this war?
Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, told the New York Times: There is growing concern among the American people and in Congress that what Israel is doing now is not a war against Hamas, but a war against the Palestinian people. That with American military aid, children are starving to death, is to me — I mean, I just don’t know what adjectives I can use. It’s disgraceful. And I think I’m not the only one who feels that.
The Senate will vote on a resolution that would freeze military aid to Israel unless the Biden administration looks into potential human rights abuses in Gaza. If passed, the resolution would require the State Department to produce a report within 30 days examining any human rights violations committed during Israel’s blockade and invasion of Gaza in the aftermath of the Hamas attacks on 7 October.
The resolution has little chance of passing given the overwhelming support for security assistance to Israel in Congress.
The measure was forced to the floor by Senator Bernie Sanders, who last week spoke on the Senate floor: In essence, we will be voting on a very simple question: Do you support asking the State Department whether human rights violations may have occurred using U.S. equipment or assistance in this war?
Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, told the New York Times: There is growing concern among the American people and in Congress that what Israel is doing now is not a war against Hamas, but a war against the Palestinian people. That with American military aid, children are starving to death, is to me — I mean, I just don’t know what adjectives I can use. It’s disgraceful. And I think I’m not the only one who feels that.