NEWS: Sanders to Force Votes to Block Arms Sales to Israel on Wednesday

WASHINGTON, April 14 – As the Netanyahu government continues its devastation in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon, and its illegal war on Iran, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) announced that he will force votes to block nearly half a billion dollars in arms sales to Israel on Wednesday. These include $151.8 million worth of 1,000-pound bombs used in Gaza and Lebanon and $295 million worth of bulldozers used to demolish homes in Gaza, Lebanon and the West Bank.
Specifically, the Senate will vote on:
S.J.Res.138– To prohibit the $151.8 million sale of 12,000 BLU-110A/B general purpose 1,000-pound “dumb” gravity bombs and related logistics and technical support services.
S.J.Res.32– To prohibit the $295 million sale of D9R and D9T Caterpillar bulldozers; spare and repair parts; corrosion protection; publications and technical documentation; pre-delivery inspections; U.S. Government and contractor support; technical and logistics support services; storage; and other related elements of logistics and program support.
“U.S. taxpayers have spent tens of billions of dollars in support of the racist, extremist Netanyahu government. Enough is enough,”Sanders said.“The United States must use the leverage we have — tens of billions in arms and military aid — to demand that Israel ends these atrocities.”
The arms sales in question violate the criteria laid out in the Foreign Assistance Act and the Arms Export Control Act. Secretary Marco Rubio signed an emergency determination just six days into the war with Iran in an attempt to bypass the statutory congressional notification period and immediately transfer these weapons. Reliable human rights monitors have documented numerous incidents involving the use of 1,000-pound bombs in illegal strikes leading to unacceptable civilian death tolls, including strikes on densely populated residential areas in Gaza and Beirut. The Caterpillar D9 bulldozers covered by S.J.Res.32 are the IDF’s primary demolition tool — used to demolish Palestinian homes, raze refugee camps, uproot olive groves and build settler-only roads that make a Palestinian state physically impossible.