Sanders Unveils Resolutions to Block US Arms Sales as Israel Rejects Cease-Fire Call

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and a pair of his Senate colleagues on Wednesday formally introduced resolutions aimed at blocking a series of proposed arms sales to the Israeli government as it bombards Gaza and Lebanon, deepening humanitarian crises there and pushing the region to the brink of all-out war.

The six Joint Resolutions of Disapproval, five of which were backed by Sens. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), would together prevent the sale of $20 billion of U.S. weaponry to Israel. The Biden administration approved the massive sale of Joint Direct Attack Munitions, tank ammunition, F-15 fighter jets, and other military equipment last month.

In a statement, Sanders (I-Vt.) said that "there is a mountain of documentary evidence demonstrating that these weapons are being used in violation of U.S. and international law."

On top of the legal case for scrapping the sales, Sanders said Wednesday that "there are also clear policy reasons not to proceed," noting that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has obstructed cease-fire efforts at every turn.

"It is clear that Netanyahu is prolonging the war to cling to power and avoid prosecution for corruption," the senator said. "Meanwhile, his government has also overseen record illegal settlement expansion in the West Bank and unleashed a wave of violence there that has killed nearly 700 Palestinians, including 150 children, and several Americans over the last 11 months. And now the world must contend with the dramatic escalation in Lebanon."

"Sending more weapons to Netanyahu's extremist government is unacceptable," he added. "That is why many of our closest allies have already stopped offensive arms transfers. Congress must now act to uphold U.S. and international law and use our leverage to advance U.S. policy goals."

Sanders, Welch, and Merkley introduced the resolutions as U.S., France, Qatar, and other nations issued a joint statement calling for a three-week cease-fire on the Israeli-Lebanon border—a proposal that Israel's foreign minister swiftly rejected as Israeli forces carried out a fresh wave of bombings in Lebanon, killing dozens.

"There will be no cease-fire in the north," Israel Katz wrote on social media. "We will continue to fight against the terrorist organization Hezbollah with all our might until victory and the safe return of the residents of the north to their homes."

The Sanders-led Joint Resolutions of Disapproval face long odds in a U.S. Congress that has passed billions of dollars in military aid to Israel since the Hamas-led October 7 attack.

With the formal introduction of the resolutions, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee now has 10 calendar days to consider the measures. Once that period is up, "the sponsor(s) of the resolution can force a floor vote on a motion to discharge the resolution from committee," Sanders' office explained in a fact sheet. Because the resolutions are privileged, they can't be amended or filibustered and require just a simple majority to pass.

The Institute for Middle East Understanding Policy Project said Wednesday that the resolutions mark "the first time in U.S. history" that "there will be a vote in Congress to block weapons to Israel."

"Sending Israel weapons is a violation of U.S. law and opposed by a majority of Americans, who are sick of seeing their tax dollars fund Israel’s war crimes against Palestinians," the group added.

Dylan Williams, vice president of the Center for International Policy, applauded the resolutions as "an appropriate, measured, and sadly necessary response to a security partner's repeated violations of U.S. and international law."

"We welcome Senator Sanders' initiative to put a stop to this carnage and U.S. complicity in it," said Williams.