A group of Democratic senators urged President Joe Biden on Monday to stop providing offensive weapons to Israel for the war against Hamas until it lifts restrictions on US-backed humanitarian aid going into the Gaza Strip.

In a letter to Biden, Senator Bernie Sanders, and seven Democrats argued that by continuing to arm Israel, Biden was violating the Foreign Assistance Act, which bars military support from going to any nation that restricts the delivery of humanitarian aid.

It was the latest bid by members of his own party to intensify pressure on Biden to use his leverage to demand that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu change his tactics and mitigate the suffering of Palestinians.

“We urge you to make it clear to the Netanyahu government that failure to immediately and dramatically expand humanitarian access and facilitate safe aid deliveries throughout Gaza will lead to serious consequences, as specified under existing US law,” the group wrote.

Sanders said it was clear that Netanyahu’s actions were in breach of the terms of US military aid as set out in the Humanitarian Aid Corridor Act, which is part of the foreign assistance law. The act says that as soon as the President is made aware that a country is blocking the delivery of American humanitarian assistance, no US military aid can be provided.

“That’s exactly what Israel is doing; they are preventing US humanitarian assistance from getting to the people of Gaza,” Sanders said in an interview. “They are in violation of the law, and therefore financial aid should be suspended.”

The move is the latest bid by Democrats in Congress to register their discontent with Netanyahu’s conduct and lean on Biden to use his power to try to change Israel’s tactics as civilian deaths rise and reports of starvation increase. The letter, written by Senators Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and Jeff Merkley of Oregon, is signed by some of the Democratic Party’s most progressive members: Senators Mazie K. Hirono, Peter Welch and Tina Smith.

“I hope the President understands that a growing number of members of Congress, and the American people in general, are sick and tired of seeing the destruction of the people of Gaza and the creation of mass starvation,” Sanders said.

But so far, Congress has shown no ability to use its own leverage to try to change Israel’s behaviour. Proponents of restricting military aid or conditioning it to a change in conduct by Netanyahu lack the votes to win the adoption of such measures. That has left them to air their anguish through a series of strongly worded letters that have yielded little action from Biden.

New York Times News Service