Bernie Sanders pledges to force Senate votes on blocking arms for Israel
In November, the Senate voted overwhelmingly to block three resolutions introduced by Sanders that would have halted transfers of weapons to Israel approved by the Biden administration
U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders said he would force votes next week on resolutions that would block $8.8 billion in arms sales to Israel, citing the conditions faced by Palestinians in Gaza.
"(Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu has clearly violated U.S. and international law in this brutal war, and we must end our complicity in the carnage," Sanders, a far-left independent who caucuses with Democrats, said in a statement announcing his plan.
Israel renewed its military campaign against the genocidal jihadists of Hamas after the ceasefire that saw Hamas release some of the hostages it took on October 7 came to an end without the sides agreeing on extension. Jerusalem maintains that hyperbolic claims about casualties in Gaza, typically relying on figures provided by Hamas, represent malevolent distortions.
In November, the Senate voted overwhelmingly to block three resolutions introduced by Sanders that would have halted transfers of weapons to Israel approved by the administration of then-President Joe Biden.
U.S. law gives Congress the right to stop major foreign weapons sales by passing resolutions of disapproval. Although no such resolution has both passed Congress and survived a presidential veto, the law requires the Senate to vote if a resolution is filed.