WASHINGTON — In a remarkable test Tuesday, Senator Bernie Sanders is forcing colleagues to officially vote on whether to investigate human rights abuses in the war between Israel and Hamas, a step toward potentially limiting U.S. military aid to Israel in the wake of devastating attacks on Gaza been a hundred days. .
The Senate vote, a first of its kind using a decades-old law, would require the U.S. State Department to produce a report within 30 days on whether Israel’s war effort in Gaza violates human rights and violate international agreements. If so, U.S. military aid to Israel, long assured without question, could quickly be cut off.
Although the Senate is unlikely to approve the measure, the senators’ vote will reveal the depth of unease among US lawmakers over Israel’s prosecution of the war against Hamas. With no clear end to the bombardment, Israel’s attacks on the Palestinians, an attempt to root out Hamas leaders, are seen by some as disproportionate to the initial terrorist attack on Israel.
The Biden administration, with repeated overtures to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, including shuttle diplomacy last week by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, is pushing Israel to shift the intensity of the fighting. About 24,000 people in Gaza, most of them women and children, have been killed and the bombing has destroyed most housing units, displacing most of Gaza’s 2.3 million people in a humanitarian catastrophe.
“In my opinion, Israel has the absolute right to defend itself against the barbaric terrorist attack by Hamas on October 7, there is no doubt about that,” Sanders said in an interview with AP on Monday before the vote.
“But what Israel does not have the right to do – with the help of military aid from the United States – is not to wage war against the entire Palestinian people,” said Sanders, the independent from Vermont. That’s what happened.”
Ahead of the vote, Sanders said senators are nervous because what he’s trying to do is unprecedented in procedure and essentially in practice.
“Congress has always supported Israel in general, and this begins to call into question the nature of the military campaign,” Sanders said. “And I think that makes some other people quite nervous.”
The White House has dismissed Sanders’ approach as “unworkable” as it seeks a transition from Israel and works to secure support at home and abroad against a harrowing response to the scenes of destruction from Gaza.
“We do not believe that this resolution is the right tool to address these problems. And we don’t think this is the right time. It is, quite frankly, unworkable,” said a statement from John Kirby of the White House National Security Council.
“The Israelis have indicated that they are preparing to transition their operations to a much lower intensity. And we believe that transition will be beneficial, both in terms of reducing civilian casualties and increasing humanitarian assistance,” Kirby said.
The action comes as Biden’s request for $106 billion in additional national security assistance for both Israel and Ukraine and other military needs has stalled. Republicans in Congress are pushing for major policy changes to stem the flow of immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Of that additional aid package, more than $14 billion would go to Israel, including $10 billion in US military aid, as the country retaliates against Hamas for the Oct. 7 surprise attack, one of the deadliest attacks ever. About 1,200 people were killed and 250 taken hostage, many of whom are still being held.
Several key Democratic senators have announced their discomfort with Israel’s war in Gaza, insisting that the Biden administration must do more to push the Netanyahu administration to reduce civilian casualties and improve living conditions for Palestinians in Gaza. improve.
Going further, Sanders had already announced his refusal to support more military aid to Israel in the package because of the war.
“If I had my druthers, I would. That is not what this resolution is about,” Sanders said.
But he did say the resolution should be seen as “a first step, not a last step.”
The resolution is taken from the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, which was amended after the Nixon era to allow Congress to oversee U.S. military assistance abroad. It requires that all weapons and military aid be used in accordance with international human rights treaties.
Although senators have voted in the past to try to halt foreign arms sales to other countries, this is an untested mechanism.
The question for the Senate will be whether to ask the State Department for a report on whether human rights abuses using American equipment may have occurred during Israel’s current campaign against Gaza, Sanders’ office said.
If the resolution were to pass, it would force the State Department to produce a report on its findings within 30 days or risk having aid cut off.
While it is not at all certain that U.S. aid to Israel will actually be cut off, as Congress could take steps to ensure no interruption, it is enough of a threat that many senators, even the Democrats who have expressed concerns about the bombing, on Gaza and the humanitarian crisis, will not want to support the measure.
Republican senators are likely to reject Sanders’ proposal entirely. Senate Republicans were nearly unanimous in their support for Israel, even as they blocked Biden’s broader national security package amid divisions within the GOP over helping Ukraine fight the Russian invasion.
Talks about tying U.S.-Mexico border security provisions to the national security aid package are trudging along, but no quick breakthrough is expected as Republicans push for stricter restrictions on migrants than Democrats are willing to give, especially for immigrants seeking asylum in the U.S.
Associated Press writer Ellen Knickmeyer contributed to this report.