WASHINGTON: Bernie Sanders, a US senator and presidential hopeful, brings a resolution to the Senate floor on Tuesday, directing the State Department to look into potential human rights violations by Israel in Gaza.

The resolution, if passed, would allow Congress to vote on terminating further military assistance to Israel based on the State Department’s findings. The White House, however, has expressed its opposition to the resolution, which mandates the State Department to issue a report on how Israel’s weapons are used during its military campaign in Gaza.

“We do not believe that this resolution is the right vehicle to address these issues,” White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters in Washington. “And we don’t think now is the right time.” But Sanders disagrees with the argument.

“In essence, we will be voting on a very simple question: whether human rights violations may have occurred using US equipment or assistance in this war?”

Referring to “widespread civilian harm” in Gaza, Sanders said the situation needs urgent attention because “this is not just another war — this is wholesale destruction.”

In an interview with CNN on Sunday, Sanders said the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza “is worse than” what happened in Dresden, Germany during World War II.

“If I use the word Dresden Germany with you, you think about the horrific destruction during World War II of that city. What is going on in Gaza now in three months is worse than what took place in Dresden over a two-year period. This is a catastrophe,” he explained.

The resolution invokes Section 502B of the US Foreign Assistance Act, allowing Congress to vote on soliciting information regarding the human rights record of any country receiving US security assistance.

Sanders, who introduced the resolution in December, plans to bring it to a floor vote this week. He argues that Israel, utilizing US-supplied weapons, has employed military tactics leading to widespread death, destruction, and starvation in Gaza.

He points to extensive evidence of what he describes as the most intensive bombing campaign of the 21st century, with over 26,000 Palestinians killed, predominantly women and children.

Israel, as the largest recipient of US foreign aid, receives billions worth of military equipment. Sanders acknowledges Israel’s right to defend itself but emphasises that it does not have the right to wage war against innocent civilians in Gaza.

“Given the scale of the destruction and the extensive use of US arms in this campaign, including thousands of massive 2,000-pound bombs, Congress must act to conduct real oversight,” Sanders said.

This resolution raises questions about the US’s role and responsibility in conflicts where its supplied weapons are involved, setting the stage for a crucial debate in the Senate.

In Sunday talk shows, Sanders said Israel has the right to defend itself against terrorist attacks but “you do not have a right to go to war against an entire people, women, and children.”

The US Congress, he argued, “must act because a lot of this destruction is being done with military weapons supplied by the United States of America.”

Sanders also rejected the suggestion that he was targeting Israel. “If American military assistance is given to any country, Saudi Arabia, Israel, any other country, it has got to be used consistent with human rights, international human rights standards and American law,” he explained.

“In my opinion, that is certainly not the case. We have a horrific humanitarian catastrophe. We cannot turn our backs on it. Congress has got to start moving to protect children in Palestine.”

Meanwhile, some US media outlets reported on Sunday that the Biden administration “keeps pressing Israel to reengage with Palestinians as partners once fighting in Gaza is over and support their eventual independence,” but Israeli “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu keeps saying no.”

Even on actions to alleviate the suffering of Palestinian civilians, “the two allies are far apart,” the report added.

The report pointed out that the United States remains Israel’s closest ally and largest weapons supplier, and “has stronger means to apply pressure on Israel; it shows no willingness to use them.”

Published in Dawn, January 15th, 2024