Senate rejects effort from Bernie Sanders to block some weapons for Israel over Gaza deaths

Senate Democrats, led by Bernie Sanders, seek to block U.S. arms sales to Israel amid Gaza war.

The Senate on Wednesday (November 20, 2024) rejected an attempt by Sen. Bernie Sanders to block sales of offensive weapons to Israel for its war in Gaza over mounting civilian deaths there.

The Vermont lawmaker and a small group of Democrats sought to put legislation up for a Senate vote that would block the sale of some tank and mortar rounds and smart-bomb kits to Israel. The first attempt to block the sales was rejected overwhelmingly, and two more were expected to go down to defeat.

Mr. Sanders, in making the case for stopping the sales, said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government “has not simply waged war against Hamas. It has waged an all-out war against the Palestinian people.”

Known as joint resolutions of disapproval, the measures would have had to pass both houses of Congress and withstand any presidential veto to become binding. Congress has never succeeded in blocking any arms sales with the joint resolutions. But the vote served as a test of broader frustration among Democrats at the war and President Joe Biden's handling of relations with Israel.

Lawmakers' move comes after a 30-day Biden administration deadline came and went earlier this month for Netanyahu to meet specific U.S. targets to improve its treatment of Palestinian civilians in Gaza trapped in the war. U.S. demands included that Israel lift a near-total ban on delivery of aid to hard-hit north Gaza for starving civilians there.

Leading global aid organizations say Israel — which is heavily dependent on U.S. arms and military aid — fell far short of meeting the U.S. demand to allow in an adequate number of aid trucks, and in some other ways worsened conditions for civilians.

That includes Israeli lawmakers newly banning the main U.N. agency that provides aid to Palestinians.