US Senator says he will support measures blocking arms sales to Israel

WASHINGTON

Democratic US Sen. Chris Van Hollen said Monday that he will support measures blocking certain offensive arms sales to Israel amid its ongoing wars on the besieged Gaza Strip and Lebanon.

Van Hollen said he has chosen to support the joint resolutions of disapproval because Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly violated US laws governing the provision of lethal aid "only to be rewarded by President (Joe) Biden."

The lawmaker from the US state of Maryland said the pattern of Israeli conduct over the course of the past year "undermines the credibility of the United States and should not persist."

"Recipients of security assistance must facilitate and not arbitrarily restrict the delivery of humanitarian assistance into war zones where US weapons are being used, and American-supplied weapons must be used in accordance with international humanitarian law. The Netanyahu government is violating both of these requirements in Gaza," he said in a lengthy statement.

"President Biden has failed to hold Netanyahu accountable – ignoring US law and undercutting his own stated policies as well as America’s interests and values. Doing so undermines American global leadership and is a disservice to the American people, the people of Israel, and people throughout the Middle East," he added.

Van Hollen circulated a letter to his Senate colleagues, asking them to join him in support of the joint resolutions.

The Senate is slated to consider them Wednesday after they were announced last week by Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders. Sen. Elizabeth Warren announced last week that she would endorse the joint resolutions.

"There is no longer any doubt that Netanyahu’s extremist government is in clear violation of US and international law as it wages a barbaric war against the Palestinian people in Gaza. Out of a population of 2.2 million, over 43,000 Palestinians have been killed and 102,000 injured – sixty percent of whom are women, children, or elderly people," said Sanders.

"The United States cannot continue to be complicit in this war by supplying more military aid and weaponry to the Netanyahu government. Congress must act to block these arms sales," he added.