With just over a month left in office, Democratic lawmakers are lobbying President Joe Biden to impose a sweeping arms embargo on Israel.
By World Israel News Staff
President Joe Biden is facing calls from within his own party to sharply curtail the sale of military equipment to Israel, accusing the Israeli military of violating humanitarian standards imposed by U.S. law.
On Tuesday, a group of 20 Democratic members of Congress, including two members of the far-left “Squad” submitted a joint letter to the Biden administration calling on the White House to impose an arms embargo on Israel, barring the transfer of all offensive military equipment.
The letter, penned by Reps. Greg Casar (D-TX) and Summer Lee (D-PA), accuses Israel’s military of violating the Leahy Law, a pair of 1997 measures spearheaded by Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy which prohibit the transfer of arms to foreign military units under “credible” suspicion of committing “gross human rights” violations.
In October, the Biden administration warned the Israeli government in a letter that it was giving the IDF one month to alter its policies in the Gaza Strip, or face the potential loss of access to American arms under the Leahy Law.
In their letter Tuesday, the 20 Democratic lawmakers argued that despite the administration’s statement in November that Israel was found to be in compliance with the law, they believe the IDF has “failed to meet” the standards imposed by American regulations.
“We believe continuing to transfer offensive weapons to the Israeli government prolongs the suffering of the Palestinian people and risks our own national security by sending a message to the world that the US will apply its laws, policies, and international law selectively,” the letter reads in part.
“Furthermore, a failure to act will put Israeli lives in danger by prolonging Netanyahu’s war, isolating Israel on the international stage, and creating further instability in the region,” the lawmakers continued.
“While Israel made nominal progress in some areas, it overwhelmingly failed to meet the minimum standards laid out in the Administration’s own letter.”
“We urge your Administration to adhere to and uphold U.S. law by suspending offensive military transfers to Netanyahu and his government.”
“Failure to do so not only risks our leverage in ceasefire negotiations, it undermines our country’s own national security and weakens America’s commitment to human rights as a cornerstone of our foreign policy.”
“We remain committed to saving Palestinian and Israeli lives. This means doing everything possible to prioritize the release of hostages, secure a lasting ceasefire deal, and move toward long term peace.”