Bernie Sanders vows to push resolution to block US weapons to Israel

United States Senator Bernie Sanders has pledged to advance a resolution aimed at blocking the sale of bombs and bulldozers to Israel. This move will test congressional support for the key US ally amidst the ongoing conflict. On Monday, Sanders announced his intention to “force the vote” on the measure later this week. This legislative maneuver allows a bill to be brought to the Senate floor without the majority leader’s approval. “This week, I will be forcing a vote on legislation to block the sale of nearly half a billion dollars worth of bombs and bulldozers to the Israeli military,” Sanders stated on X. He added, “The extremist Netanyahu government that has committed genocide in Gaza does not need more military support from American taxpayers,” referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration. While the resolution is unlikely to pass in the Republican-controlled Senate, it will serve to gauge the level of support Israel commands among Democrats. Many Democrats have expressed increasing anger over the US-Israel war on Iran and the ongoing atrocities in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. Sanders had introduced a similar bill in July of last year, which failed in a 27-70 vote. Nevertheless, Palestinian rights advocates at the time noted that the vote tally indicated an erosion of the pro-Israel bipartisan consensus in Washington. A majority of Senate Democrats had supported the 2025 resolution. Since then, US public support for Israel has reportedly continued to decline, particularly among young people and Democrats, according to recent polls. A Gallup poll in February revealed that only 46 percent of Americans hold favorable views of Israel, with just 17 percent of Democratic respondents sympathizing more with Israelis than Palestinians. The United States has provided Israel with over $21 billion in military aid during the first two years of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. The abuses in Gaza and the war on Iran, which saw former US President Donald Trump join forces with Israel to initiate the conflict without congressional authorization, have intensified skepticism regarding unconditional US support for Israel. Significantly, J Street – a prominent liberal Zionist organization that identifies as both pro-Israel and pro-peace – called for the first time on Monday for a phased reduction of US aid to the Israeli military. In a statement, the group emphasized, “The war in Gaza, rising extremist Jewish terror in the West Bank, and the US-Israel war with Iran have highlighted the need for a fundamental reassessment of the US-Israel security relationship.” J Street further urged the consistent application of US laws, which restrict security assistance to foreign countries over human rights abuses, to Israel. Rights advocates contend that successive US administrations have bypassed these laws and overlooked Israeli violations to ensure an uninterrupted flow of weapons to Israel. #BernieSanders #USIsraelRelations #Gaza #MilitaryAid #HumanRights #USCongress #Palestine #Netanyahu #ForeignPolicy #WeaponsBlockade