US House Democrats urge Biden to push Israel on war conduct, mull halting arms sales
Letter from 88 members of US Congress says that any potential pause on military funding should not affect missile defense systems such as Iron Dome
WASHINGTON — Scores of Democrats in the United States House of Representatives on Friday urged US President Joe Biden to consider halting arms sales to Israel if it does not alter the conduct of its war against Hamas.
A letter signed by 88 Democratic members of Congress and delivered to the White House ratchets up pressure on Biden to take a firmer stance toward Israel, a staunch ally.
The lawmakers voiced “serious concerns regarding the Israeli government’s conduct of the war in Gaza as it pertains to the deliberate withholding of humanitarian aid.”
Israel’s restrictions on US-backed humanitarian aid delivery in Gaza “have contributed to an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe,” the letter said, citing the US Agency for International Development.
Aid organizations have long complained of obstacles to getting relief to those in need inside Gaza.
But Israel has insisted it does not block relief entering Gaza, and that any shortages are the result of the inability of aid agencies to distribute it to those in need.
However, the lawmakers urged Biden to make clear to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that any impediment to aid delivery to Gaza was “risking its eligibility for further offensive security assistance from the United States.”
The letter said any US halt in military funding should not affect missile defense systems such as the Iron Dome.
“We continue to strongly support providing such lifesaving defensive funding to Israel,” the letter said.
Those signing the letter included Democrats on the House Armed Services Committee and the Foreign Affairs Committee.
Since the start of the war in Gaza, which was triggered by the unprecedented attack by Hamas on October 7, Biden has faced criticism for his unconditional support for Israel.
But pressure on him has mounted as pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel protests have shaken US university campuses and garnered headlines, months before Biden seeks re-election.
