Bill banning weapons exports to Israel defeated in Senate

Nearly one-third of Democratic Senators voted to ban arms exports to Israel.

By World Israel News Staff

A bill proposing a ban on the export of U.S. weapons to Israel was soundly defeated in a 79-18 vote in the Senate on Wednesday, with one senator voting present.

The measure, proposed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), aimed to ban the sale of tank munitions, mortar munitions and JDAM systems to Israel.

Although the bill was defeated, almost one-third of Democratic senators voted in favor of it.

18 Democrats voted in favor of banning a $774 million sale of tank rounds, 19 Democrats agreed to block the $61 million sale of mortar rounds, and 17 Democrats attempted to ban the $262 million sale of joint direct attack munitions (JDAMs).

“It goes without saying that Israel had a right to defend itself from the horrific Hamas terrorist attack of October 7, but Israel did not have the right to kill 43,000 Palestinians and injure over 100,000, most of whom are women, children and the elderly,” Sanders said when speaking about the bill in the Senate.

Notably, Sanders uncritically repeated statistics provided by the Hamas terror group regarding the numbers of casualties, which do not distinguish between the deaths of terrorists engaged in combat and civilians.

Those numbers are also proven to be wildly exaggerated, with the United Nations quietly revising their casualty count by half.

Continuing to rail against Israel, Sanders falsely claimed that Israel is starving “thousands and thousands of children” in Gaza.

Sanders failed to mention that Hamas regularly steals humanitarian aid, stockpiling it in warehouses and then selling it at exorbitant prices to Gazan civilians.

Those who have attempted to distribute aid to civilians have regularly been murdered by the terror group.

Although he is a harsh critic of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer staunchly opposed Sanders’ bill.

“Voting to block assistance today could very well embolden Hamas and Hezbollah and Iran, and endanger Israel’s security on into the future,” Schumer said.

“This is about Israel’s long term security and honoring a cornerstone of United States policy that we will give Israel, a democracy and a steadfast ally, the resources it needs to protect itself in a difficult world,” he added.