U.S. Senate Dismisses Sanders’ Bid to Ban Weapons Sales to Israel

(MENAFN) The US Senate decisively turned down two resolutions Wednesday proposed by Senator Bernie Sanders aimed at blocking arms shipments to Israel during the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

In a 27-70 vote, the Senate dismissed the effort to advance S.J. Res. 41, which sought to ban the sale of tens of thousands of fully automatic assault rifles.

Similarly, S.J. Res. 34, intended to stop a $675.7 million arms package that includes 1,000-pound bombs, was rejected by a 24-73 vote.

Notably, a historic number of Senate Democrats—over half of the caucus—supported the measures, signaling growing unease within the party.

Sanders responded to the vote, stating, "The tide is turning. Americans don't want to spend billions to starve children in Gaza. The Democrats are moving forward on this issue, and I look forward to Republican support in the near future."

During his Senate floor remarks before the vote, Sanders accused Israel of conducting an "all-out illegal, immoral and horrific war of annihilation" against Palestinians over the past 21 months.

He highlighted that from March 2 to May 19, Israel completely blocked humanitarian aid shipments into Gaza.

"In recent months, the Netanyahu government's extermination of Gaza has made an unspeakable and horrible situation even worse," Sanders emphasized.

He further alleged that the Israeli government is deliberately using mass starvation as a tool to "engineer the ethnic cleansing" of Gaza.

"Despite these war crimes, carried out daily in plain view, the United States has provided more than $22 billion for Israel’s military operations since this war began," Sanders said.

Underlining public sentiment, Sanders said US taxpayers have poured billions into backing the "racist, extremist" Netanyahu administration. "Enough is enough."

He added, "Americans want this to end. They do not want to be complicit in an unfolding famine and daily civilian massacres. And we here in Congress tonight have the power to act. No more talks, no more great speeches. But tonight, we have the power to act — the power to force Netanyahu and his extremist government to end this slaughter." "The time is long overdue for Congress to use the leverage we have — tens of billions in arms and military aid — to demand that Israel end these atrocities."

Since late 2023, Israel has rejected international ceasefire calls while pursuing a sustained offensive in Gaza that has killed over 60,000 Palestinians, primarily women and children. The relentless attacks have devastated the territory, causing widespread starvation.

In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, charging them with war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice over its military campaign in the region.

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