In a significant response to the dispute between Israel and Gaza's ruling Hamas party, US House Democrats proposed a bill on Wednesday aiming to block a $735 million sale of precision-guided weapons to Israel. Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Mark Pocan, and Rashida Tlaib were the bill's lead sponsors. It has at least six other cosponsors, including three of the House's most left-leaning Democrats.
House Democrats want Israel weapons sale blocked
They are among the lawmakers who have called for a more determined US attempt to end the conflict, which has included Israeli bombings that have killed hundreds of civilians, the majority of whom are Palestinians, in the besieged Gaza Strip. The administration of Democratic President Joe Biden approved a proposed sale of $735 million in weapons to Israel earlier this year and submitted it to Congress for formal consideration on May 5, granting lawmakers 15 days to object under international weapons sales laws.
"We should not be sending direct attack weapons to Prime Minister Netanyahu to escalate this bloodshed at a time when so many people, including President Biden, favor a ceasefire," Ocasio-Cortez said in a statement, as per Reuters. The resolution is unlikely to advance anywhere in the House, where Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office decides whatever bills are brought up for a vote.
The sale has the support of the chamber's leaders, with No. 2 Democrat Steny Hoyer telling reporters yesterday that he supports it. Before the launch of the region's fiercest hostilities in years earlier this month, the selling of Boeing Co's Direct Attack Munitions, or JDAMs, was considered routine.
In Congress, both Republicans and Democrats show strong support for Israel. Since World War II, Israel has been the largest provider of US international aid, with the US now supplying Israel with $3.8 billion in military aid each year.
Before violence erupted in the Gaza Strip at a pace not seen since 2014, the Biden administration approved an arms sale from Boeing, a US corporation, to Israel. Republicans and Democrats are fighting for resolutions in the Senate. On Wednesday, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. said he would try to block a Republican resolution in favor of Israel, which his office described as "destructive," and instead proposes a resolution calling for the Senate to support an immediate ceasefire.
As violence gripped the region earlier Wednesday, Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he predicted a "major de-escalation" on the way to a ceasefire. Per NBC News, the White House's expression in the declaration was some of the most forceful yet in calling for an end to the fight.
The call, which Biden made before leaving for a Coast Guard commencement ceremony, was the fourth between the two leaders since both Republicans and Democrats have been pressing him to help negotiate a ceasefire. For more than a week, Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist group that controls Gaza, have launched airstrikes and missile attacks.
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Democrats want Biden to delay Israel weapons sale
Three sources said to The Washington Post that House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Gregory W. Meeks (D-NY) would send a letter to the Biden administration requesting a delay in the $735 million sales of precision-guided weapons to Israel. The letter came less than 24 hours after The Washington Post reported that the administration had approved a weapons sale to Israel, including Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMS). These kits transform so-called "dumb" bombs into precision-directed missiles and Guided Bomb Unit-39s (GBU-39). According to two individuals who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share sensitive information, both are used against Palestinians.
On May 5, Congress was formally informed of the proposed sale, about a week before hostilities in the Middle East escalated between Israel and Hamas. Tensions erupted among Democratic Foreign Affairs Committee members caught off guard by the sale over the weekend and chastised the committee for lack of transparency on weapons deals.
On Monday evening, the Biden administration called for a ceasefire despite failing to do so earlier in the day. It has stated that Israel has the right to protect itself from Hamas, which most Congress has historically adopted.
The Democratic Party's internal opposition to the proposed sale reflects the growing rift among Democrats over US policy against Israel. Throughout the day, Democrats on Capitol Hill pressed Biden to bring in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as Israeli airstrikes in Gaza killed at least 212 Palestinians.
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