US Democrat stalls Israel arms delivery to avoid “more death”
US House of Representatives Democrat and chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Gregory Meeks told CNN on April 9th he would not approve a massive arms transfer to Israel until gaining more information as to the country’s use of such weapons.
“I’m waiting for assurances,” he said. “I want to make sure that I know the types of weapons and what the weapons would be utilized for.”
On April 1st, Reuters reported that US President Joe Biden’s administration had weighed whether to go ahead with sending an $18 billion arms transfer package to Israel that would include Boeing F-15 aircrafts.
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The long-standing alliance between Israel and the US grows more strained as the conflict continues. In a phone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Biden warned that US support hinged on improved conditions in Gaza.
US law requires that Congress be notified of major foreign military sales agreements. It has authority to block such sales if deemed detrimental to human rights. No such resolution has ever passed and survived a presidential veto.
An informal review process allows Democratic and Republican leaders of foreign affairs committees — like Meeks — to vet such agreements before Congress is formally notified, meaning any of them can hold up an agreement indefinitely by asking for more information.
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Meeks said there has been “enough of the indiscriminate bombing” in Gaza.
“I don’t want the kind of weapons that Israel has to be utilized to have more death,” he added. “I want to make sure that humanitarian aid gets in. I don’t want people starving to death and I want Hamas to release the hostages.”
Israeli forces pulled its forces out of the southern Gaza strip on April 7th — though BBC reported that Netanyahu has hinted at his preparation for “future operations” in Rafah with an undisclosed start-date for another offensive operation.
CNN
