aside from supplying the bombs for Netanyahu's ethnic cleansing campaign
Senators Urge Biden to Stop Arming Israel, Citing Violation of U.S. Aid Law
An independent and seven Democrats argued in a letter that the
administration had run afoul of a part of a law that bars military aid from
going to any country that blocks humanitarian aid.
A group of Democratic senators urged President Biden on Monday to stop
providing offensive weapons to Israel for the war against Hamas until it lifts
restrictions on U.S.-backed humanitarian aid going into Gaza.
In a letter to Mr. Biden, Senator Bernie Sanders, independent of Vermont, and
seven Democrats argued that by continuing to arm Israel, Mr. Biden was
violating the Foreign Assistance Act, which bars military support from going
to any nation that restricts the delivery of humanitarian aid.
It was the latest bid by members of his own party to intensify pressure on Mr.
Biden to use his leverage to demand that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
change his tactics and mitigate the suffering of Palestinians as the offensive
in Gaza drags into its fifth month.
“We urge you to make it clear to the Netanyahu government that failure to
immediately and dramatically expand humanitarian access and facilitate safe
aid deliveries throughout Gaza will lead to serious consequences, as
specified under existing U.S. law,” the group wrote.
Mr. Sanders said it was clear that Mr. Netanyahu’s actions were in breach of
the terms of American military aid as set out in the Humanitarian Aid Corridor
Act, which is part of the foreign assistance law. The act says that as soon as
the president is made aware that a country is blocking or restricting the
delivery of American humanitarian assistance, no U.S. military aid can be
provided.
“That’s exactly what Israel is doing; they are preventing U.S. humanitarian
assistance from getting to the people of Gaza,” Mr. Sanders said in an
interview. “They are in violation of the law, and therefore financial aid should
be suspended.”
The move is the latest bid by Democrats in Congress to register their
discontent with Mr. Netanyahu’s conduct and lean on Mr. Biden to use his
power to try to change Israel’s tactics as civilian deaths rise and reports of
starvation increase. The letter, written by Senators Sanders, Chris Van Hollen
of Maryland and Jeff Merkley of Oregon, is signed by some of the
Democratic Party’s most progressive members: Senators Elizabeth Warren of
Massachusetts, Mazie K. Hirono of Hawaii, Peter Welch of Vermont, Tina
Smith of Minnesota and Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico.
“I hope the president understands that a growing number of members of
Congress, and the American people in general, are sick and tired of seeing
the destruction of the people of Gaza and the creation of mass starvation,”
Mr. Sanders said.
But so far, Congress has shown no ability to use its own leverage to try to
change Israel’s behavior. Proponents of restricting military aid or conditioning
it to a change in conduct by Mr. Netanyahu lack the votes to win adoption of
such measures in either the House or the Senate. That has left them to air
their anguish about the conduct of Israel’s offensive and the suffering it has
created in Gaza through a series of strongly worded letters that have yielded
little action from Mr. Biden.
Last month, the Senate approved an emergency national security aid bill that
would send an additional $14.1 billion in military aid to Israel, including $10
billion for offensive weapons for the war against Hamas.
The White House says a meeting with an Israeli delegation on Rafah is
expected early next week.
The U.N. human rights chief says Israel may be using starvation as a war
weapon.
Netanyahu acknowledges a dispute with the U.S., but says Israel will press
on into Rafah.
The letter draws a distinction between defensive aid for Israel, such as the
Iron Dome, and the military assistance that would go toward furthering
Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip.
“Israel has the right to defend itself,” Mr. Sanders said, “but Israel does not
have — in any way, shape or form — the right to go to war against the entire
Palestinian people.”
For months now, the United Nations and aid groups in the region have
accused Israel of either failing to provide safe passage to aid deliveries or
preventing vehicles from clearing checkpoints and holding up aid along the
border.
Image
Parachutes fill the sky above a city.
Aid being airdropped over northern Gaza from military aircrafts on
Monday.Credit...Ronen Zvulun/Reuters
Mr. Biden has stopped short of directly laying blame on Mr. Netanyahu for
stopping humanitarian assistance, and has continued to provide unequivocal
support of Israel’s military operation.
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But as the United States finds itself as both the source of offensive weaponry
and the provider of relief for those on the receiving end of attacks from those
weapons, Mr. Biden has had to come up with ways to circumvent the
obstacles preventing assistance from reaching the Palestinian people.
This month, Mr. Biden authorized an airdrop of 38,000 ready-to-eat meals
into Gaza, and last week he announced that the U.S. military would build a
temporary pier to create a new entry point for aid into the region.
The actions, the senators said, are a tacit admission from the White House
that Israel is standing in the way of much-needed food and supplies getting
to starved Palestinians.
“People are now dying of starvation, and we need to use all the leverage
we’ve got,” Mr. Van Hollen said. “The administration has not used the
leverage it has today. I don’t know how many more kids have to starve before
we use all the levers of our influence here, but they really need to do more.”
A version of this article appears in print on March 13, 2024, Section A, Page 8
of the New York edition with the headline: Senators Urge Biden to Stop
Arming Israel, Citing Violation of Law.
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