["This is a humanitarian cataclysm, and it is being done with
American bombs and money," says the Vermont senator. "We need to face
up to that fact—and then we need to end our complicity in those
actions." ]
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SANDERS RESOLUTION AIMS TO HAVE US ‘RECKON WITH ITS COMPLICITY’
IN GAZA  
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Jake Johnson
December 15, 2023
Common Dreams
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_ "This is a humanitarian cataclysm, and it is being done with
American bombs and money," says the Vermont senator. "We need to face
up to that fact—and then we need to end our complicity in those
actions." _

Bernie Sanders, Gage Skidmore (CC BY-SA 2.O)

 

Sen. Bernie Sanders
[[link removed]] introduced a
resolution Thursday that would cut off all security assistance to
Israel if the U.S. State Department fails to quickly produce a report
on the country's human rights practices, which have faced heightened
scrutiny and condemnation during the devastating assault on Gaza.

Sanders' (I-Vt.) resolution
[[link removed]] is
privileged, meaning that after 10 days the senator can force a vote on
discharging the measure from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
The resolution requires just simple-majority support to pass out of
committee and clear the full Senate. It would then have to get past
the House and President Joe Biden.

Under the Foreign Assistance Act (FAA), the U.S. is barred from
providing security aid to any government engaged in flagrant human
rights abuses. As Sanders' office explains in a summary
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the new resolution, Section 502B(c) of the FAA "allows Congress to
request information on a particular country's human rights practices
and to alter or terminate U.S. security assistance to that country in
light of the information received."

Should Sanders' resolution pass, the U.S. State Department would be
required within 30 days to submit a report on Israel's human rights
practices, including information "concerning alleged violations of
internationally recognized human rights by the government of Israel"
and the U.S. role in such violations.

The resolution, if approved, would cut off all security assistance to
Israel if the State Department fails to produce the required report.
If the report is submitted, lawmakers "may at any time thereafter
adopt a joint resolution conditioning, restricting, terminating, or
continuing security assistance" to Israel, according to Sanders'
office.

That resolution would also be privileged, requiring a simple majority
vote in the House and Senate and the signature of Biden, whose
administration has opposed conditioning aid to Israel and worked
to expedite arms transfers
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as he has raised concerns
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the indiscriminate bombing of Gaza.

"The scale of the suffering in Gaza is unimaginable—it will be
remembered among some of the darkest chapters of our modern history,"
Sanders said in a statement. "This is a humanitarian cataclysm, and it
is being done with American bombs and money. We need to face up to
that fact—and then we need to end our complicity in those actions."

The text of Sanders' resolution runs through just some of the horrors
that Gazans have experienced over the past two months, including the
Israeli military's killing of around 19,000 people, the large-scale
destruction of homes and other civilian infrastructure, and the
displacement of more than 85% of the territory's population of 2.3
million.

"The Israeli military has made extensive use of Mark 84 2,000-pound
bombs, Mark 83 1,000-pound bombs, Mark 82 500-pound bombs, and 155mm
artillery in densely populated urban areas with a large civilian
presence," the resolution states, noting that such weaponry is
supplied by the U.S.

Sanders, who has faced progressive criticism for refusing to demand
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permanent cease-fire in Gaza, has urged the Biden administration
to withdraw its support
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roughly $10 billion in military aid that Congress is considering
providing to the Israeli government as it commits mass atrocities in
the Gaza Strip
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"We all know Hamas' brutal terrorist attack began this war," Sanders
said Thursday. "But the Netanyahu government's indiscriminate bombing
is immoral, it is in violation of international law, and the Congress
must demand answers about the conduct of this campaign. A just cause
for war does not excuse atrocities in the conduct of that war."

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel
free to republish and share widely.

_Jake Johnson [[link removed]] is a
senior editor and staff writer for Common Dreams._

_Common Dreams [[link removed]] is a
reader-supported independent news outlet created in 1997 as a new
media model._

_Our nonprofit newsroom covers the most important news stories of the
moment. Common Dreams free online journalism keeps our millions of
readers well-informed, inspired, and engaged._

_We are optimists. We believe real change is possible. But only if
enough well-informed, well-intentioned—and just plain fed up and
fired-up—people demand it. We believe that together we can attain
our common dreams._

* Bernie Sanders
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* Gaza
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* Israel
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* U.S. foreign policy
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