House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has broken with President Joe Biden by joining progressives in calling for a halt to all existing and future US arms supplies to Israel.
Forty members of Congress signed a letter to Biden on Friday, noting that the tragic attack on World Central Kitchen aid workers requires an investigation into whether Israel is using U.S. weaponry “in compliance with U.S. and international law.”
Pelosi’s support is especially important considering her lengthy working relationship with Biden.
On Monday, the Israeli military struck and killed seven relief workers who had coordinated their movements with them and were traveling in clearly marked vehicles, adding to the global outrage over Israel’s handling of the war.
One of the employees was an American citizen. All were laboring to feed Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which is facing famine.
On the day of the World Central Kitchen attack, the Biden administration apparently approved an armament shipment with hundreds of 2,000-pound explosives as well as smaller devices. There are also reports of a pending sale of up to 50 F-15 fighter jets.
“We strongly urge you to reconsider your recent decision to authorize the transfer of a new arms package to Israel and to withhold this and any future offensive arms transfers until a full investigation into the airstrike is completed,” the letter to Biden and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated.
“If this strike is found to have violated U.S. or international law, we urge you to continue withholding these transfers until those responsible are held accountable,” he said. “We also urge you to withhold these transfers if Israel fails to sufficiently mitigate harm to innocent civilians in Gaza, including aid workers, and if it fails to facilitate—or arbitrarily deny or restrict—the transport and delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza.”
Other signatories included Reps. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.), Cori Bush (D-Mo.), Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.).
Biden has expressed strong support for Israel since Hamas-led militants killed over 1,100 people in an Oct. 7 attack on the country, resulting in massive protest votes in several states’ Democratic primaries.
His tone, however, changed this week during a conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Biden urged for an “immediate cease-fire” and informed Netanyahu that future US cooperation will be contingent on Israel’s actions to safeguard civilians and relief workers in the Gaza Strip. The existing scenario was “unacceptable,” Biden stated.
Hours after the conversation, Israel declared that it would open two humanitarian relief channels into Gaza.
The Israeli military also said Friday that it had fired two officers and disciplined three others in connection with the World Central Kitchen incident.
House Republicans plan to vote next week on a resolution denouncing Biden’s policy shift as “one-sided.”
