Sanders introduces new resolutions to block U.S. arms sales to Israel

Michael Arria
Mondoweiss
Tue, 25 Feb 2025 00:00 UTC

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Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is once again introducing legislation aimed at halting U.S. arms sales to Israel.

The Senator's office says that the four, new Joint Resolutions of Disapproval (JRDs) would block $8.56 billion worth of weapons to the country. The proposed arms package includes 2,166 Small Diameter Bombs, 2,800 500-pound bombs, tens of thousands of fuzes, thousands of Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) guidance kits for use on bombs, 3,000 Hellfire Missiles, and 10,000 155mm High Explosive artillery shells.

Sanders, in a statement said:

"Israel had the right to defend itself against Hamas and respond to the barbaric October 7, 2023, terrorist attack, which killed 1,200 innocent people and took over 240 hostages. But Netanyahu's extremist government has instead waged an all-out war against the entire Palestinian people, killing more than 48,000 and injuring more than 111,000 - the vast majority of whom are women and children.

"Tragically, much of this carnage has been carried out with American bombs and weapons. Netanyahu has used our bombs to damage or destroy almost 70 percent of the structures in Gaza, including hundreds of schools. All of this has been done in clear violation of U.S. and international law.

"With Trump and Netanyahu openly talking about forcibly displacing millions of Palestinians from Gaza - in other words, ethnic cleansing - it would be unconscionable to provide more of the bombs and weapons Israel has used to kill so many civilians and make life unlivable in Gaza."

Sanders points out that the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the Arms Export Control Act (AECA) require such sales to be consistent with internationally-recognized human rights.

Sanders's effort comes amid an increasingly fragile ceasefire. This week Hamas officials accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of "purposely sabotaging" the negotiated prisoner exchange.

Sanders introduced a similar set of resolutions last fall. Although they were rejected, 18 Democrats voted in favor of at least one of those resolutions, including Dick Durbin (D-IL), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Ed Markey (D-MA), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). It's currently unclear whether the legislation will generate more support now that Donald Trump is in office. There are also six new Democrats in the chamber and, of that group, only Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA) has indicated that he would have opposed the move. So far, the new round resolutions lack any cosponsors.

Some supporters, like Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff, have been attacked by pro-Israel groups for backing the earlier effort. "Bernie Sanders is once again trying to block life-saving military aid to Israel. Will Senate Democrats like Ossoff join him again?" tweeted the Senate Republicans account this week.

Earlier this month the State Department informed Congress that it plans to sell Israel another $7 billion in weapons. The announcement came just two days after Trump met with Benjamin Netanyahu at The White House and announced his plan to ethnically cleanse Gaza and take it over. The Biden administration had notified Congress of the sale shortly before leaving office.

Comment: Another count has the number at 60,000 dead in Gaza. But other estimates report:

The official Hamas count that all sides like to cite is now over 48,000 deaths.

As American doctors back from Gaza before the Rafah closing last year said — just about everybody surviving in Gaza is sick, injured, or dying. They put the death estimate almost a year ago at a minimum of 95,000, not counting tens of thousands of families buried under the rubble when Israeli F-16s blew up entire apartment buildings.

Interestingly, the media has no trouble estimating the Syrian deaths at the hands of dictator Assad (500,000) nor the deaths in the wars in Sudan or Ukraine. Only the Palestinians, who are not allowed to live, don't get the respect of having their deaths accurately estimated.

In August 2024, based on available historical, empirical, and clinical records, we estimated about 300,000 Palestinians had been killed.
- August/September 2024 issue of the Capitol Hill Citizen

At 400,000 and growing, far more Palestinians have been killed in Gaza than the combined total of deaths from Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and Dresden in World War II.

ISRAEL'S TEN VIOLATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL HUMANITARIAN LAW IN GAZA

1. Genocide Count I. Killing Palestinians in Gaza.
2. Genocide Count II. Deliberately inflicting on Palestinians in Gaza conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.
3. Genocide Count III. Destroying hospitals and maternal care necessities intended to prevent births by Palestinian women in Gaza.
4. Crimes against humanity. Extermination and persecution of 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza as part of a systematic attack directed at Palestinian civilians.
5. Deliberately targeting civilians and civilian property for destruction.
6. Failing to provide for the security and welfare of the inhabitants occupied by the Israeli Defense Forces in Gaza.
7. Impeding delivery of humanitarian assistance.
8. Forcible relocation of civilian population.
9. Use of military force causing civilian casualties vastly disproportionate to the importance of any legitimate military objective.
10. War of aggression against Gaza Palestinians.