Twenty Democrats name for upholding US legal guidelines that prohibit arming international locations that block humanitarian help.
Washington, DC – Twenty Democratic legislators in the USA have urged the administration of President Joe Biden to halt the switch of offensive weapons to Israel, noting that the Israeli authorities has not complied with US calls for for extra help to enter Gaza.
In a letter addressed to Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday, the Congress members referred to as on Washington to uphold its personal legal guidelines that limit army help to international locations that commit warfare crimes and block US-backed humanitarian help.
“We imagine persevering with to switch offensive weapons to the Israeli authorities prolongs the struggling of the Palestinian individuals and dangers our personal nationwide safety by sending a message to the world that the US will apply its legal guidelines, insurance policies, and worldwide regulation selectively,” the letter mentioned.
It added that failure to behave would extend Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s warfare on Gaza, “isolating Israel on the worldwide stage and creating additional instability within the area”.
The letter was led by Summer time Lee and Greg Casar, who was lately elected to steer the Congressional Progressive Caucus subsequent yr, succeeding Pramila Jayapal.
The push is unlikely to persuade Biden and Blinken, who’ve repeatedly pledged their “ironclad” help for Israel, to alter course. But it surely underscores the persisting progressive stress on the US administration over its Center East coverage.
It additionally highlights Casar as a critic of Israel earlier than he turns into the chair of the influential Progressive Caucus.
In the present day, I am main 20 Members of Congress to demand that the Biden Admin withhold offensive weapons from the Israeli army.
U.S. regulation is evident: if the Netanyahu authorities doesn’t enable enough meals & medication to enter Gaza, then the U.S. can’t ship weapons. pic.twitter.com/NHhhZMuGt1
— Congressman Greg Casar (@RepCasar) December 17, 2024
The congressional assertion focuses on the Biden administration’s ultimatum to Israel in October, when US officers warned Israel in a letter to allow the stream of humanitarian help into Gaza inside 30 days or face penalties.
Though a number of humanitarian teams have mentioned that Israel failed to satisfy the circumstances outlined by Washington to enhance the state of affairs in Gaza, the Biden administration mentioned after the deadline that it might proceed to present weapons to Israel.
“Whereas Israel made nominal progress in some areas, it overwhelmingly failed to satisfy the minimal requirements specified by the Administration’s personal letter,” the lawmakers wrote.
For instance, US officers demanded permitting 350 help vans to the besieged Palestinian territory. However a mean of 42 vans had been allowed into Gaza day by day throughout the 30-day interval.
Actually, humanitarian teams – together with the Norwegian Refugee Council, Oxfam, Refugees Worldwide and Save the Youngsters – accused Israel of taking “actions that dramatically worsened the state of affairs on the bottom, notably in northern Gaza” after the US warning.
“Israel has did not adjust to its ally’s calls for – at huge human price for Palestinian civilians in Gaza,” the teams mentioned in a joint assertion final month.
A suffocating Israeli blockade has introduced lethal starvation to Gaza. The warfare, which has destroyed giant elements of Gaza, has killed greater than 45,000 individuals, in response to native well being authorities.
United Nations consultants and several other rights teams have accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza – an effort to destroy the Palestinian individuals partially or in full.
The Worldwide Prison Courtroom final month issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant over suspected warfare crimes in Gaza, together with utilizing starvation as a weapon of warfare.
However the US has remained unflinching with its help for its ally. A current Brown College examine estimated that the Biden administration supplied $17.9bn to Israel to assist fund the primary yr of the warfare on Gaza.
Tuesday’s congressional letter coincided with the submitting of a lawsuit by Palestinians in Gaza, the West Financial institution and the US aiming to compel Washington finish army help to Israeli military items participating in human rights violations.
