Only days after the deaths of seven relief workers, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and more than 30 House Democrats urged President Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken to reconsider the recent authorization of arms for Israel.
“In light of this incident, 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 lawmakers wrote in the letter, which was obtained and first reported by NBC News.
On Monday, an Israeli airstrike murdered seven World Central Kitchen food relief workers, causing widespread outrage and worry among top US officials.
“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,” the senators stated in their letter.
In a letter, more than three dozen Democratic members demanded that the Biden administration suspend arms sales to Israel while it conducted an investigation into the airstrike.
Israel accepted its mistake in murdering the seven workers, claiming it was inadvertent. The MPs described it as a “shockingly unacceptable mistake.”
The Israeli Joint Chiefs of Staff conducted a preliminary inquiry that revealed the IDF mistook the workers for armed Hamas fighters. Israel stated on Thursday that it would establish a border crossing in northern Gaza.
Blinken said Friday that Israel’s actions are “positive developments,” but the US will wait and watch what happens in the following days and months. Biden talked with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, and he stated that US policy in Gaza is reliant on Israel’s imminent next steps.
“While we appreciate your administration’s recent efforts to increase the delivery of desperately needed humanitarian aid to Gaza, these efforts will not be sufficient to meet the extraordinary need on the ground,” the legislators said in a letter to the president.
A representative for Pelosi stated that she signed the letter because she supports an independent investigation into the murders of the relief workers.
“Speaker Pelosi is sympathetic to some of the thoughts in the letter, and she feels very strongly that there must be a comprehensive, independent investigation into the horrific killing of the World Central Kitchen heroes,” said Aaron Bennett, a Pelosi spokesperson. “Speaker Pelosi knows President Biden’s support for Israel and empathy with the innocent civilians in Gaza, and she respects his judgment in how to proceed.”
