WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th May, 2021) US Senator Bernie Sanders has introduced a new resolution in Congress to halt a new US deal to supply $735 million worth of precision-guided munitions and small-diameter bombs to Israel.
Earlier in the week, news broke that the Biden administration had approved the deal between Israel and the defense manufacturing wing of Boeing on May 5, before Israel and Gaza militants began exchanging rocket fire. By law, Congress has 20 days to approve or block the deal from going through.
"At a moment when US-made bombs are devastating Gaza, and killing women and children, we cannot simply let another huge arms sale go through without even a Congressional debate," Sanders said in a Twitter message. "We need to take a hard look at whether the sale of these weapons is actually helping do that, or whether it is simply fueling conflict."
Sanders, who was a frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination through most of the Primary races in 2020 also said the United States needed to "lead" Israel and the Palestinians to a more peaceful and prosperous future of coexistence.
"I believe that the United States must help lead the way to a peaceful and prosperous future for both Israelis and Palestinians," he said.
Sanders' move comes after progressive House Democrats Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Mark Pocan, and Rashida Tlaib filed similar resolutions.
The resolution is not expected to be approved by the Senate even though it would only need a straight majority to do so. If President Joe Biden vetoed it, the resolution would then need a two-thirds majority to be approved by the Senate.
