From the Liveblog of
Friday, March 28, 2025
Bernie Sanders says he’ll force Senate votes on blocking US arms sales to Israel
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US Senator Bernie Sanders says he will force votes next week on resolutions that would block $8.8 billion in arms sales to Israel, citing the human rights crisis faced by Palestinians in Gaza after Israel resumed bombarding Hamas targets in the enclave and suspended aid deliveries.
“[Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu has clearly violated US and international law in this brutal war, and we must end our complicity in the carnage,” Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, asserts in a statement announcing his plan.
“No humanitarian aid has entered Gaza in more than three and a half weeks since Israeli authorities announced a complete blockade — that’s no food, water, medicine, or fuel since the start of March,” he adds.
The Senate voted overwhelmingly in November to block three resolutions introduced by Sanders that would have halted transfers of weapons approved by the administration of then-president Joe Biden, a Democrat whom progressives criticized as doing too little to help Palestinians as conditions in Gaza worsened.
President Donald Trump, who began a second term on January 20 and is a fierce advocate for Israel, has reversed Biden’s efforts to place some limits on what arms are sent to Netanyahu’s government.
Last month, Trump sidestepped the congressional review process to approve billions of dollars in military sales to Israel.
The Times of Israel Community.