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American peace advocates and pro-Palestinian groups have called on President Joe Biden to stop selling precision-guided bombs worth $735 million to Israel, and the Biden administration has accelerated this pace.
Huweida Alaf, co-chair of the Palestine Subcommittee of the National Bar Association and an American Palestinian rights organizer, said: “We intend to transfer weapons to a country that not only engages in aggression but also violates human rights on a large scale.”
Alaf told Al Jazeera: “Our government is providing support to Israel, not only through the billions of dollars we have provided to Israel, but also through protecting Israel from any form of responsibility.”
A coalition of more than 100 groups including the Middle East Peace Church, the Jewish Voice for Peace, the Committee of Friends of National Legislation, and the democratically inclined political group Justice Democratic Party, MoveOn, Indivisible, and the Sunrise Movement signed an open letter to Biden.
“Planning to sell weapons to Israel will send a signal of support for Israel’s recent actions in occupied Gaza and East Jerusalem, including possible violations of international humanitarian law,” the groups said in the letter.
“We believe that continuing these sales will harm American moral values, national security interests, and give the green light to Israel’s violation of Palestinian human rights, thereby supporting possible violations of international humanitarian law,” these organizations said.
The Biden administration officially notified Congress Planned arms sales of $735 million On May 5, lawmakers were given 15 days to raise objections. The U.S. State Department issued a license to continue selling to manufacturer Boeing on May 21.
Representative Alexander Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Bernie Sanders Submit a resolution in Congress The sale was prevented under the US Arms Control Law.
Supporters say that those deals that failed due to procedural reasons disappointed those who opposed the sale, and they hope to at least try to debate and vote in Congress.
Beth Miller, senior government affairs manager at the Jewish Voice for Peace, said: “These weapons are usually sold with rubber stamps, and there really is a lack of transparency in the way they work.”
“In the past few weeks, we have all seen how the Israelis use these weapons,” Miller told Al Jazeera.
“They use them in residential apartment buildings and hospitals to destroy COVID centers and wipe out Palestinian families.”
In the 11 days of May, the Israeli bombing of Gaza killed 253 Palestinians, including 66 children, and displaced more than 58,000 people. In Israel, 12 people, including two children, were killed by rockets fired by Palestinian groups in Gaza.
Although weapons sales have now received key approval from the State Department and Congress has not taken any action to stop it, it will take several months before the bombs are actually delivered. American groups have asked Biden to stop the transfers through administrative actions.
The U.S. has provided $3.8 billion Military assistance to Israel Every year, Biden supports sending Israel asks for 1 billion U.S. dollars Supplement its Iron Dome missile defense system.
Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz Visit Washington DC Last week, a round of high-level meetings promoted funding for Iron Dome.
Biden has Staunch supporter In the recent crisis, he has repeatedly stated that the United States clearly supports Israel’s right to protect itself from rocket attacks.
At the same time, Biden and his administration are working to achieve a ceasefire through diplomatic channels. The United States has Pledged $75 million to help rebuild Gaza after the recent Israeli bombing.
The group that signed the letter hoped that Democrat Biden would notice the rising political pressure within the progressive party of the Democratic Party and demand that Israel assume greater responsibility.
Kyle Cristofalo, senior director of advocacy and government relations for the Churches for Middle East Peace, said the continued $735 million arms sales are now sending the wrong signal.
“This will only lead to more suffering and even more deaths. This does not help us in our efforts to be a constructive participant, to end this conflict, to encourage resolution and justice, the right of all,” Christopher Law Luo told Al Jazeera.
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