Joint resolutions of disapproval would prevent Pentagon from sending $20bn to Israel as it continues assault on Gaza
A vote to block arms sales to Israel will be held on Wednesday in the US Senate.
The joint resolutions of disapproval (JRDs), introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders in September, would prevent the Pentagon from sending another $20bn to Israel as it continues its assault on Gaza – which has killed at least 43,000 people.
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s extremist government has not simply waged war against Hamas – it has waged war against Palestinians,” Sanders said a press conference held on Tuesday ahead of the vote.
“Much of what’s been happening there has been done with US weapons and American taxpayer support,” Sanders continued, adding that the US has provided more than $18bn in military aid to Israel and delivered more than 50,000 tons of armaments and military equipment.
“The United States of America is complicit in these atrocities. This complicity must end.”
The resolutions to be voted on the floor, and would block the sale of 120mm mortar rounds, joint direct attack munitions (JDAMS), and tank rounds, must pass both the Senate and the House of Representatives with a simple majority. If they pass, they go to the president.
The Sanders-led effort to stop the flow of arms to Israel comes after the country failed to meet the US-imposed deadline of 12 November to increase humanitarian aid and allow at least 350 trucks into Gaza a day. Despite Israel’s failure, the US took no action.
