US Senator Bernie Sanders present a draft bill to stop US aid to Israel
Independent US Senator, of the state of Vermont, Bernie Sanders presented on Friday a draft resolution calling on the administration of President Joe Biden to submit a report and discussion on the Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip, noting the significant damage suffered by the civilian population.
Sanders, who is considered an independent member of the Senate, seeks to include a clause in the US Foreign Aid Act that prohibits the provision of security assistance to any government that consistently engages in gross violations of internationally recognized human rights, and allows Congress to vote to demand a report on human rights violations concerns in the country.
If the draft bill to obtain information is approved, the State Department must submit a report within 30 days, otherwise all security assistance to that country will stop.
It’s still unclear how much support the draft resolution may receive from political forces, as US lawmakers, whether Democratic or Republican, have agreed to provide military aid to Israel without restrictions for years.
The draft resolution recognized Israel’s right to respond to the Hamas attack on October 7, but expressed its regret about the difficult humanitarian conditions in Gaza.
Sanders stressed in his statement that this is a humanitarian catastrophe caused by US weapons and money, indicating the necessity of confronting this incident and ending involvement in such actions.
Israeli attacks continue to devastate large parts of Gaza, with around 19,000 people confirmed dead according to Palestinian health officials.
Washington is putting pressure on Israel to intensify its efforts to reduce civilian casualties in light of mounting global criticism of the worsening humanitarian catastrophe.
Israel pledged to destroy Hamas after it attacked the Gaza envelop area, killing 1,200 people, and taking 240 hostages on October 7.
Netanyahu’s government says Hamas is using civilians as human shields, something Hamas denies, but criticism is growing from allies and adversaries that Israel is doing little to protect uninvolved civilians.
