US Senator Bernie Sanders advanced two joint resolutions to block a $500 million arms deal to Israel. Sanders expressed concerns over the war in Iran as the rift is widening at an alarming pace. The measures were to halt weapons and equipment from being sent to Israel to stop them from escalating the conflict further after the 14-day ceasefire ends.
However, Bernie Sanders’ bid to stop the arms deal worth $500 million to Israel failed on Wednesday. Lawmakers in the upper chamber of the US Congress voted down his measures to prohibit the arms deal. The deal will now allow 12,000 bombs and armoured bulldozers to reach Israel’s Tel Aviv.
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Bernie Sanders’s $500 Million Arms Deal to Israel Blocked: Doubts About the War Escalating Rises
The development is now leading to doubts about whether the war will continue after the 14-day ceasefire. The disapproval of Bernie Sanders’ $500 million arms deal to Israel comes when the US and Iran are holding talks in Pakistan’s Islamabad. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Pakistan is the “only mediator” for the discussions.
Bernie Sanders and other Democratic leaders argued that Trump’s role in the Iran war is illegal, and so is the $500 million arms deal to Israel. “If we want to rein in a Trump administration that launched an illegal war against Iran, we should also rein in the Netanyahu administration that’s doing exactly the same thing with American taxpayer dollars,” said Senator Chris Van Hollen, Democrat of Maryland.
Senator Bernie Sanders stressed that Israel’s President Benjamin Netanyahu will continue the war with the $500 million arms deal. “For Netanyahu, Gaza was not enough,” he said on the Senate floor. “Attacking Iran was not enough. Netanyahu is now waging a full-blown war of expansion against Lebanon.” He warned that continued weapons supply going unchallenged will only lead to a severe global fallout.