US Senate votes down effort to withhold weapons to Israel amid Gaza war
Al Jazeera
Washington, DC – The United States Senate has rejected a bill that aimed to block a US weapons sale to Israel amid the country’s war on Gaza, an outcome that rights advocates say does not take away from a growing push to condition aid to Washington’s top ally.
A resolution to halt the sale of tank rounds failed to advance in a 79 to 18 vote on Wednesday with prominent progressives and mainstream Democratic senators backing the effort.
Two more resolutions to halt the sale of other weapons are still to be voted on, but the results are expected to be similar.
The proposal was part of a series of measures known as Joint Resolutions of Disapproval (JRDs) that Sanders introduced in September to reject the sale of offensive weapons to Israel as part of a $20bn deal approved by the administration of President Joe Biden.
It was the first time ever that a weapon sale to Israel was subjected to such a vote.
