US senator introduces legislation to block arms sales to Israel

WASHINGTON

Sen. Bernie Sanders said Wednesday that he introduced legislation to block the sale of more than $20 billion in US arms sales to Israel.

"Sending more weapons to (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu's extremist government is unacceptable," Sanders said in a statement.

Stressing that American weapons are responsible for far too many civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip, he said that "sending weapons is not only immoral, it is also illegal.”

The Senate will vote on the Joint Resolutions of Disapproval (JRD) when it reconvenes in November, he added.

The export of the weapons would violate the criteria laid out in the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the Arms Export Control Act (AECA), Sanders stressed.

"There is a mountain of documentary evidence demonstrating that these weapons are being used in violation of US and international law," he added.

Israel has continued a brutal offensive on Gaza following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas last Oct. 7, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

Nearly 41,500 people, mostly women and children, have since been killed and over 95,500 injured, according to local health authorities.

The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of the territory amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel faces accusations of genocide for its actions in Gaza at the International Court of Justice.