Bernie Sanders wants to stop $735 million US arms sale to Israel
Senator Bernie Sanders is going to propose a resolution of disapproving a $735 million U.S. arms sale to Israel on Thursday, the senator’s office confirmed to USA Today on Thursday.
Sanders confirmed in a statement, “At a moment when U.S.-made bombs are devastating Gaza, and killing women and children, we cannot simply let another huge arms sale go through without even a Congressional debate.”
“I believe that the United States must help lead the way to a peaceful and prosperous future for both Israelis and Palestinians. We need to take a hard look at whether the sale of these weapons is actually helping do that, or whether it is simply fueling conflict,” he added.
The resolution would halt the sale, which Congress learned of on May 5, five days before the beginning of the recent conflict in the Mideast.
The recent increase in violence has split the Democratic Party into different sides, with many progressives more forcefully backing Palestinians in the conflict.
Sanders’s proposal is related to broader calls within the party to recheck the U.S.’s longstanding, unconditioned military and economic help to Israel.
