CIP Commends Courage of Senators Who Voted to Block Certain Arms Sales to Israel

Center for International Policy executive vice president Matt Duss issued the following statement after a series of Senate votes on joint resolutions of disapproval to block certain specified arms transfers to Israel:

“CIP commends the 19 Senators who voted for one or more measures to disapprove of new transfers of specific offensive weapons to Israel. These Senators had the courage to stand up for U.S. law, the rights of civilians in conflict, and basic decency.

“Coming on the same day that international relief agencies reported that virtually no humanitarian aid has entered northern Gaza in 40 days, the resolutions introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) would have had the effect of beginning to enforce the Humanitarian Aid Corridor Act, which prohibits U.S. security assistance to recipient countries that restrict such aid. Today’s votes in favor of the resolutions are a stark rejection of the Biden administration’s repeated refusal to uphold this and other U.S. arms laws consistently and impartially when it comes to Israel. From Palestinian rights groups to labor unions to center-left pro-Israel organizations, the resolutions were widely endorsed by civil society and align with popular opinion that shows Americans want to stop the unconditional supply of arms to Israel. 

“Israel’s right to respond to the Hamas-led atrocities of October 7, 2023 and seek the return of its hostages is well established in international law – as is its obligation to take all feasible precautions to minimize civilian harm. In more than thirteen months of war, Israel’s government has openly ignored that obligation, obstructed diplomacy toward a ceasefire and hostage release agreement, and repeatedly violated US law and red lines. 

Yet, as civilian deaths, displacement and disease among Palestinians in Gaza mount alongside open calls for ethnic cleansing by Israeli officials, the Biden Administration is not merely failing to act – it is actively enabling the Netanyahu government’s war crimes. Rather than taking steps to bolster democracy, rights and rule of law at home and abroad in advance of the Donald Trump’s second term, President Biden and his top officials are spending their precious last days in office lobbying against measures to protect U.S. interests and vetoing otherwise unanimously-supported resolutions in the United Nations Security Council that reflect its own stated policies.

“The lawmakers who stood on the right side of history today will be remembered for their leadership and humanity. The same cannot be said about President Biden and those who help him abet starvation and slaughter in Gaza.”