December 7, 2023
In a Powerful Letter to the Biden Administration, Five U.S. Senators Make a Strong Case for Halting U.S. Arms Sales to Israel Until Protections are in Place. Ceasefire Now!
“Israel must do more to protect civilians in Gaza. I’m leading Senate Democrats in a letter to the Biden administration seeking answers and stronger oversight to ensure any use of U.S. weapons complies with U.S. and international laws,” said Senator Elizabeth Warren.
So yes, this week a group of Senators, including Warren and Senator Bernie Sanders, expressed deep concern about how American weapons are being used against Palestinian civilians in possible violation of international law.
In a strongly-worded, and well-documented, eight-page letter to President Joe Biden, the Senators want the administration to give information and show accountability that ensures any future use of U.S. weapons is by U.S. policy and international law.
The letter, also signed by Senators Jeff Merkley, Tim Kaine, and Martin Heinrich, noted that in response to the Hamas attack on Oct 7th, the Israeli government has killed over 15,000 Palestinians in Gaza, the vast majority of whom are civilians.
In a recent speech, Senator Sanders underlined the points made in the letter:
At a time when some 16,000 Palestinians have been killed in the last 2 months, two-thirds women and children, & 1.8 million displaced from their homes, NO. I don’t think it’s a good idea to hand another $10 billion to Israel’s right-wing extremist government with no strings attached.
We salute the Senators in their letter to President Biden scrutinizing U.S. military aid to the right-wing Netanyahu government without clear accountability on the question of war crimes and violations of international law. The letter ends with 13 questions for the Biden administration that the Senators want answered by December 20th.
Not to mince words, we at PDA believe there is already ample evidence that U.S. military aid has been deployed by the Israeli military in actions that result in the indiscriminate killing of civilians in Gaza, and other violations of U.S. and International law. That is why we in PDA along with hundreds of other organizations, continue to call for a permanent ceasefire, and why we also support a moratorium on further military aid to Israel until a fail-safe system is in place to ensure that it will only be used in compliance with U.S. and International law.
War is not the answer, and certainly the continuing mass slaughter and inhumane treatment of the Palestinian population in Gaza will only lead to a more dire humanitarian catastrophe.
Join us in our urgent call for a permanent CEASEFIRE!
For peace,
The PDA National Staff
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