By Sharon Zhang / Truthout
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) is backing a bid by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) to block a massive weapons transfer to Israel by the Biden administration, citing violations of U.S. law in backing Israel’s assault on Gaza.
Warren said in a statement on Thursday that she is supporting a joint resolution of disapproval brought forth by Sanders to block the sale of weapons to Israel. Such resolutions allow Congress to block a foreign weapons deal initiated by the executive branch.
The Massachusetts senator specifically cited the Biden administration’s refusal this week to uphold its own pledge last month to withhold weapons to Israel if it did not comply with a U.S. request to increase humanitarian aid into Gaza within 30 days. On Tuesday, the end of the 30-day period, the administration said that it has not assessed that Israel is in violation of U.S. law, despite Israel not only not complying but also worsening the aid blockade in recent weeks.
“Thirty days later, the Biden administration acknowledged that Israel’s actions had not significantly expanded food, water and basic necessities for desperate Palestinian civilians,” Warren said in a statement. “Despite [Israeli Prime Minister] Netanyahu’s failure to meet the United States’ demands, the Biden administration has taken no action to restrict the flow of offensive weapons.”
“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. 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,” the senator continued.
Sanders announced on Wednesday that he will be bringing forth his joint resolutions of disapproval, aimed at blocking $20 billion of the Biden administration’s planned weapons transfers to Israel, for a vote in the Senate next week.
Warren did not specify which resolutions of disapproval she supports. Lawmakers often specify that they are opposed to “offensive” weapons transfers to Israel but support “defensive” weapons — though advocates have long argued that there is no practical difference when “defensive” weapons, like supplies for Israel’s Iron Dome, just give Israel leeway to attack countries without fear of damage from retaliation.
Sanders has brought forth six resolutions in total, each targeting a different portion of the sale. Several of them, targeting tank rounds, JDAMs, JDAM receivers and mortar cartridges, were co-introduced by Senators Peter Welch (D-Vermont) and Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon), but Sanders was alone in introducing the largest part of the sale, involving $18.8 billion worth of fighter aircraft and upgrades to Israel’s arsenal of F-15s. Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) has joined the resolution regarding blocking the transfer of tank rounds.
“There is no longer any doubt that Netanyahu’s extremist government is in clear violation of U.S. and international law as it wages a barbaric war against the Palestinian people in Gaza,” said Sanders. “The United States cannot continue to be complicit in this war by supplying more military aid and weaponry to the Netanyahu government. Congress must act to block these arms sales.”
Sanders says that the sales would be in violation of the Foreign Assistance Act, which specifies that the U.S. must not send weapons to entities preventing the delivery of U.S. humanitarian aid. Experts, advocates and lawmakers have repeatedly said that the administration is violating international and domestic law in sending Israel weapons, but U.S. officials have instead lied about and provided cover for Israel’s genocidal slaughter in order to continue fueling the weapons pipeline.
Stopping the flow of weapons to Israel from the U.S., Israel’s top foreign military backer, is one of the only ways to end the genocide in Gaza and Israel’s aggression in Lebanon and beyond, advocates have long said.
Warren’s statement came after a group of 95 organizations in Massachusetts sent a letter to Warren and Sen. Ed Markey (D-Massachusetts) asking them to vote for the resolutions.
“The [resolutions] would block the transfer of the types of weapons that Israel have used in strikes that have killed thousands of civilians, including aid workers and journalists, in Gaza over the last year,” the letter said.
Similarly, on Wednesday, a group of 95 New York-based organizations wrote a letter to New York Senators Kristen Gillibrand (D) and Chuck Schumer (D) urging them to back Sanders’s effort. The letter campaign was led by the National Iranian American Council’s respective state chapters and Peace Action.
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Sharon Zhang
Sharon Zhang is a news writer at Truthout covering politics, climate and labor. Before coming to Truthout, Sharon had written stories for Pacific Standard, The New Republic, and more. She has a master’s degree in environmental studies. She can be found on Twitter: @zhang_sharon.