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‘THAT’S THE LAW’: SENATORS SAY BIDEN MUST END ARMS SALES IF
ISRAEL KEEPS BLOCKING AID
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Jake Johnson
March 12, 2024
Common Dreams
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_ "Federal law is clear, and, given the urgency of the crisis in
Gaza, and the repeated refusal of Prime Minister Netanyahu to address
U.S. concerns on this issue, immediate action is necessary." _
U.S. President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken are
pictured during a White House meeting on November 21, 2023 in
Washington, D.C., Drew Angerer/Getty Images
A group of senators said Tuesday that under U.S. law, the Biden
administration must cut off American military assistance to Israel
unless the Netanyahu government immediately stops impeding aid
deliveries to the Gaza [[link removed]] Strip,
where children are dying of starvation after months of incessant
Israeli bombing and attacks on humanitarian convoys.
"The severe humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza is nearly
unprecedented in modern history," the eight senators—led by Sens.
Bernie Sanders [[link removed]]
(I-Vt.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.)—wrote
in a letter
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to U.S. President Joe Biden. "Your administration has repeatedly
stated, and the United Nations and numerous aid organizations have
confirmed, that Israel's restrictions on humanitarian access, both at
the border and within Gaza, are one of the primary causes of this
humanitarian catastrophe."
The senators argued that the Israeli government's systematic
obstruction
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of aid deliveries violates U.S. law, pointing specifically to Section
620I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. The law states that "no
assistance shall be furnished... to any country when it is made known
to the president that the government of such country prohibits or
otherwise restricts, directly or indirectly, the transport or delivery
of United States humanitarian assistance."
Biden administration officials have admitted
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is impeding aid deliveries to desperate Gazans. But when asked last
week whether Israel's actions amount to a "breach" of the Foreign
Assistance Act, U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said
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he would "have to go back and look at the language of that text."
"It's not something that I've spent a lot of time looking at," he
added.
"The United States should not provide military assistance to any
country that interferes with U.S. humanitarian assistance."
The senators wrote to Biden on Tuesday that "according to public
reporting and your own statements, the Netanyahu government is in
violation of this law."
"Given this reality, we urge you to make it clear to the Netanyahu
government that failure to immediately and dramatically expand
humanitarian access and facilitate safe aid deliveries throughout Gaza
will lead to serious consequences, as specified under existing U.S.
law," the letter reads. "The United States should not provide military
assistance to any country that interferes with U.S. humanitarian
assistance."
"Federal law is clear," the senators added, "and, given the urgency of
the crisis in Gaza, and the repeated refusal of Prime Minister
Netanyahu to address U.S. concerns on this issue, immediate action is
necessary to secure a change in policy by his government."
I am asking President Biden, along with 7 of my colleagues, to enforce
existing U.S. law. The Foreign Assistance Act is very clear:
Netanyahu’s government MUST stop restricting humanitarian aid access
to Gaza or forfeit U.S. military aid to Israel. That's the law.
pic.twitter.com/NOZefjUTlb [[link removed]]
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) March 12, 2024
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The senators' letter was made public hours after the head of the
United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine
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(UNRWA) said
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turned away a truck "loaded" with humanitarian aid because there were
scissors in children's medical aid kits—just one of many examples
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of Israel blocking the delivery of badly needed assistance.
Israel has limited the flow of aid to Gaza for years, but its siege
has become much more restrictive since October 7, when Israel began
its latest assault on the Palestinian territory following a deadly
Hamas-led attack.
The U.S., by far Israel's biggest arms supplier, has yet to impose any
substantive consequences on the Netanyahu government for its mass
killing of civilians or obstruction of humanitarian aid. The Biden
administration has quietly approved
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than 100 separate weapons sales to Israel since October.
Instead of using its leverage
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to force Israel's hand, the administration has resorted to airdropping
aid [[link removed]] into Gaza and
planning the construction of a temporary port
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the enclave's coast—steps that aid groups say won't be anywhere near
enough to avert famine
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Citing four unnamed U.S. officials, _Politico _reported
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Monday that Biden "will consider conditioning military aid to Israel"
if it launches a ground invasion of Rafah, a small city near the
Egyptian border where more than half of Gaza's population is
sheltering.
Brian Finucane, senior adviser for the U.S. program at the
International Crisis Group, wrote
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response to _Politico_'s reporting that "U.S. law and policy already
impose conditions on military aid to Israel as well as every other
country."
"The Biden admin has just refused to enforce those conditions so far,"
he added.
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Jake Johnson is a senior editor and staff writer for Common Dreams
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