(RepublicanNews.org) – American senators rejected a Bernie Sanders-introduced bill that would have tied future military funding to Israel to the Israeli government’s adherence to international humanitarian law and human rights standards during its war with Hamas in Gaza.
According to a report, seventy-two senators voted to reject the idea, with 11 senators supporting it. Despite the resounding loss, Sanders’ campaign served as a significant litmus test for the Democrat Party’s increasing discontent with American support for Israel.
Section 502B(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act, which has been in place for decades, permits Congress to request information from the State Department on a country’s human rights record if that country receives U.S. security aid. Sanders’s proposal was the first of its type to use this provision.
If Sanders’ proposal were approved, the State Department would be required to provide its findings to Congress within 30 days.
Unofficially, more than 24,000 Palestinians have reportedly died in Israel’s shelling of Gaza since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7th, and some of the 2.4 million people who live there have been forced to flee their homes as a result.
Reports show the White House was against the measure. The United States provides Israel with $3.8 billion in annual security aid, including fighter planes and heavy explosives that might demolish Hamas tunnels. An extra $14 billion has been requested by Biden to Congress.
Before the vote, Sanders told media outlets that Israel had the unalienable right to defend itself in the face of the savage terrorist assault on October 7 by Hamas. However, Sanders maintained that Israel lacked the authority to launch a full-scale war against the Palestinian people, especially because it relies on American military help.
On the procedural vote, eleven senators—mostly Democrats from different ideological wings—backed Sanders.
Sanders had a difficult task since both parties in Congress were against putting restrictions on assistance to Israel. Additionally, Joe Biden has consistently supported Israel’s war in Gaza.
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