Sen. Bernie Sanders introduced a resolution on Wednesday that will force a vote in Congress to block billions of dollars in offensive American weapons sales to Israel ― a significant escalation by the Vermont independent as the Biden administration continues to arm the country in its expanding military campaigns that most of the international community has decried.
Democratic Sens. Jeff Merkley (Ore.) and Peter Welch (Vt.) joined the lawmaker in sponsoring the Joint Resolutions of Disapproval, which Sanders described as essentially the only tool that Congress has to block American weapons transfers that don’t follow U.S. and international law.
The Pentagon notified Congress last month of five possible foreign military sales to Israel totaling more than $20 billion, a record-breaking series of potential arms transfers to a country that for almost a year now has used U.S. weapons to pummel Gaza and the Palestinian people in response to a deadly attack by Hamas. The Israeli military has also blocked most humanitarian aid from entering the territory, and has significantly escalated attacks in the occupied West Bank and neighboring Lebanon.
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