U.S. SENATE News:
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. senators from New Mexico, Martin Heinrich (D), a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and Ben Ray Luján (D) sent a letter Friday to President Biden expressing concern around any additional transfer of U.S. weapons, including bombs, to the Netanyahu government in Israel in light of the t humanitarian disaster in Gaza and the developing crisis in Rafah.
In their letter, the senators press President Biden to call for specific commitments from the Netanyahu government prior to any additional transfer and request that Congress receive additional information to provide continued oversight.
The senators begin, “We understand that your Administration is planning to submit to the Congress a notice for another major transfer of U.S. weapons, including bombs, to the Netanyahu government for use in the war in Gaza. We write to express our concern about this proposed transfer in light of the current humanitarian disaster in Gaza and the developing crisis in Rafah. As a result, we urge you to provide Congress with certain commitments and assurances from the Netanyahu government before such a transfer could take place and ask that Congress receive additional information needed to effectively review such a request as a part of our oversight duties.”
“Like you, we have repeatedly emphasized our support for Israel’s right, indeed duty, to defend itself in the aftermath of the horrific Hamas terror attack of Oct. 7, when about 1,200 people were murdered and more than 240 individuals were taken hostage. There must be no more Oct. 7th’s and the remaining hostages must be returned safely home. Furthermore, we continue to approve of the U.S. providing Israel with defensive systems, which is why we have supported earlier requests made by the Administration to replenish the Iron Dome and for other air defense systems. We have also previously stated, as have you, that how the war in Gaza is conducted matters for both moral and strategic reasons. A just war must nevertheless be waged justly and Hamas’s despicable tactic of operating from amongst the civilian Palestinian population does not absolve Israeli forces of the legal duty to operate in a manner that minimizes civilian harm,” the senators continue.
“Under these circumstances, the Administration and Congress must scrutinize the future transfer of U.S.-taxpayer financed weapons to the Netanyahu coalition with extreme caution and careful oversight. It is our duty to ensure that such transfers do not make an already catastrophic situation even worse. Accordingly, if the Secretary of State plans to submit the notice that is reportedly being prepared by the Administration, we urge you to seek the following four commitments from the Netanyahu government to ensure that American aid does not contribute more to the disaster that is unfolding and to push the Netanyahu government to respect the requests you have made about the conduct of this war and the need for aid to reach the people in Gaza. Furthermore, it remains important that Congress has all the facts needed to assess the appropriateness of this transfer before any action is taken,” they write.
The senators go on to urge the Biden Administration to seek four commitments from the Netanyahu government:
- There will be no major military operation in Rafah;
- They will implement additional measures for the immediate delivery of humanitarian relief ;
- They will prioritize the return of hostages; and
- They will comply with National Security Memorandum-20.
They also ask for the following information to be provided to Congress by the Biden Administration:
- An analysis of credible reports reviewed by the State Department in determining the Netanyahu government’s compliance with Conventional Arms Transfer (CAT) Policy; and
- An explanation of State’s determination regarding the Netanyahu government’s compliance with the Humanitarian Aid Corridor Act.
The letter was led by U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii).
The full text of the letter is available here.