US lawmakers urge Biden to stop sending military aid to Israel

WASHINGTON: Twenty Democratic legislators in the US have urged the administration of President Joe Biden to halt the transfer of offensive weapons to Israel, noting that the Israeli government has not complied with US demands for more aid to enter Gaza, Al Jazeera reported.

In a letter addressed to Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday, the Congress members called on Washington to uphold its own laws that restrict military aid to countries that commit war crimes and block US-backed humanitarian assistance, as per Al Jazeera.

“We believe continuing to transfer offensive weapons to the Israeli government prolongs the suffering of the Palestinian people and risks our own national security by sending a message to the world that the US will apply its laws, policies, and international law selectively”, Al Jazeera quoted the letter as saying.

The letter said that failure to act would prolong Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war on Gaza, “isolating Israel on the international stage and creating further instability in the region”.

Congressperson Greg Casar said that the law bars the US from sending weapons to Israel if it does not allow sufficient aid to enter Gaza.

In a post on X, Casar said, “Today, I’m leading 20 Members of Congress to demand that the Biden Admin withhold offensive weapons from the Israeli military. U.S. law is clear: if the Netanyahu government does not allow sufficient food & medicine to enter Gaza, then the U.S. cannot send weapons.”

Today, I’m leading 20 Members of Congress to demand that the Biden Admin withhold offensive weapons from the Israeli military.

U.S. law is clear: if the Netanyahu government does not allow sufficient food & medicine to enter Gaza, then the U.S. cannot send weapons. pic.twitter.com/NHhhZMuGt1

— Congressman Greg Casar (@RepCasar) December 17, 2024

Biden administration gave an ultimatum to Israel in October, when US officials warned Israel in a letter to enable the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza within 30 days or face consequences.

“While Israel made nominal progress in some areas, it overwhelmingly failed to meet the minimum standards laid out in the Administration’s own letter,” the lawmakers wrote.

Five Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank and the United States have sued the State Department over its support to Israeli military accusing it of being involved in the “human rights abuses” in Gaza.

The lawsuit, announced on Tuesday, accuses the Department of State of failing to implement a US federal law that prohibits the transfer of funds to foreign military units engaged in gross violations such as extrajudicial killings and torture, Al Jazeera reported. (ANI)