US lawmakers call on Biden to investigate 'Israel's' use of US weapons
US Senator Bernie Sanders speaks as he joins a protest with transport workers in London, Britain, August 31, 2022 (Reuters)
Representative Jamaal Bowman, Senator Bernie Sanders, and several other US lawmakers are calling on US President Joe Biden's administration to look into whether US arms sales to the Israeli occupation are being used to commit human rights abuses against Palestinians.
In a letter to Biden and US State Secretary Antony Blinken, Bowman, as well as Representatives Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Betty McCollum, and others cited "the rapidly escalating violence in the occupied Palestinian West Bank and the alarming actions of the new extreme right-wing Israeli government" as an impetus for the investigation.
The lawmaker said their concerns about the "Israeli government’s worsening systemic violations of Palestinian human rights … have only deepened and grown more urgent under the new Israeli government."
The letter urged the Biden administration to ensure that the US is not financing illegal Israeli settlements and to investigate whether US arms sales to "Israel" are being used to violate US law or commit human rights violations.
"We call on your administration to ensure that all future foreign assistance to Israel, including weapons and equipment, is not used in support of gross violations of human rights, including by strengthening end-use monitoring and financial tracking," the letter concluded.
For the fiscal year 2023, US Congress allocated $3.8 billion in assistance to the Israeli occupation and around $100 million "in funding for other cooperative defense and non-defense programs."
It is noteworthy that the US has long been defending and supporting "Israel", its closest ally, by providing the occupying entity with military aid and training as well as diplomatic cover to continuously commit crimes against Palestinians.
Most importantly, the US allocates billions of dollars to repair and replenish the Israeli occupation's Iron Dome air security system.
It is worth noting that the Iron Dome air security system "was developed with funding help from Washington, and both governments have veto power over proposals to share it," according to The Washington Post.
In the UN Security Council, the United States has used its veto more than 40 times to protect its closest ally, "Israel", from being held responsible for crimes committed against Palestinians.