US Senator to offer amendments on cutting funding to Israel

WASHINGTON

US Senator Bernie Sanders said Monday that he will offer amendments centered on the Israel portion of a national security supplemental package.

"I look forward to offering amendments tomorrow to cut billions in offensive military funding to Israel from the proposed national security supplemental package and protect essential humanitarian operations," Sanders said in a statement.

His remarks came a day before the Senate will take up the House-passed bills.

The House of Representatives passed a series of foreign aid bills on Saturday that allocate $60.8 billion for Ukraine, $26.4 billion for Israel and $8 billion for Indo-Pacific allies to counter China. Another bill would force the sale of TikTok and imposes sanctions on Iran, China and Russia.

The Senate is expected to vote on the package this week and President Joe Biden has pledged to sign it into law.

Sanders said the Senate should have a chance to debate and vote on the key components of "such a massive package."

"In poll after poll, Americans have showed their increasing disgust for (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu’s war machine and the humanitarian disaster it has caused in Gaza.

"Enough is enough. We cannot continue to fund this horrific war," he added.

Israel has waged a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7 last year, which Tel Aviv says killed nearly 1,200 people.

At least 34,151 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and 77,000 others injured amid mass destruction and severe shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.