Democrats slam Biden for approving sale of $735m of precision-guided missiles to Israel

United States Democrats have criticized the Joe Biden administration for approving the sale of $735m of precision-guided weapons to Israel, questioning the government for supporting the government of Benjamin Netanyahu in the war against Palestine.

The Congress was officially notified of the proposed sale on May 5, but during congress sitting on Tuesday, the majority Democrats kicked against the move, vowing to block it.

They said President Biden was showing double standards by calling for a ceasefire in the conflict that had claimed more than 200 lives, and at the same time approving the sale by maintaining that Israel has the right to defend itself.

While a large majority of Congress backs this position, a growing minority of Democrats, particularly in the House of Representatives, have raised concerns about supporting Netanyahu and question the timing of the sale, with some suggesting tjar Biden is using the sale as leverage to push for a ceasefire.

“In the past week, the Israeli military’s strikes have killed many civilians and destroyed the building that housed the Associated Press, an American company reporting on the facts in Gaza,” a Democratic lawmaker on the House Foreign Affairs Committee was quoted as saying.

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“Allowing this proposed sale of smart bombs to go through without putting pressure on Israel to agree to a ceasefire will only enable further carnage,” he added.

Congressman Mark Pocan of Wisconsin tweeted:

“We cannot just condemn rockets fired by Hamas and ignore Israel’s state-sanctioned police violence against Palestinians — including unlawful evictions, violent attacks on protestors & the murder of Palestinian children. US aid should not be funding this violence.”

New York representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez labelled Israel an “apartheid state” on Twitter saying that it could not be considered a democracy.

“This is happening with the support of the United States. I don’t care how any spokesperson tries to spin this. The US vetoed the UN call for ceasefire. If the Biden admin can’t stand up to an ally, who can it stand up to? How can they credibly claim to stand for human rights?”

By Isaac Dachen

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