US Senate rejects resolution to freeze military aid to Israel if human rights are violated in Gaza

(Patria) - The US Senate on Tuesday rejected a resolution that would have frozen security assistance to Israel unless the State Department produced a report within thirty days examining whether Israel has committed human rights violations in its campaign against Hamas in Gaza, Reuters reported.

Seventy-two senators voted to nullify the resolution, compared to eleven who supported it, giving it the simple majority needed to nullify the resolution in the hundred-member chamber.

The vote was forced by independent senator Bernie Sanders, who is allied with Democrats in congressional circles. Although the resolution was easily rejected, it reflected growing concern among some of President Joe Biden's Democratic colleagues over the delivery of American weapons to Israel despite the war in Gaza and the suffering of Palestinian civilians.

"We must ensure that American aid is used in accordance with human rights and our own laws," Sanders said.

The White House said it opposed the resolution, which could have paved the way for conditioning security assistance to Israel. Senators who opposed the measure said it sent the wrong message at a time when Israel said it was transitioning to a more targeted campaign.

The United States provides Israel with $3.8 billion in military aid each year, ranging from fighter jets to bombs that could destroy Hamas tunnels. Biden has asked Congress to approve an additional fourteen billion dollars for Israel.

Sanders' resolution was submitted in accordance with the Foreign Assistance Act, which allows Congress to order a country to provide a report on human rights and other information about any country that has received US security assistance.

Had the resolution been adopted, the State Department would have been required to submit a report to Congress within thirty days. After receiving the report, Congress could consider another resolution proposing changes to security assistance to Israel.