Amnesty International USA welcomed Senators Sanders’, Welch’s and Merkley’s introduction of Joint Resolutions of Disapproval (JRD) seeking to block certain arms sales to the Government of Israel and urged all members of Congress to support this effort.
A JRD is a legislative tool Congress can leverage, under the Arms Export Control Act (AECA), to block a major arms sale once Congress has received notification from the State Department of the sale.
“Amnesty International has joined countless human rights and humanitarian organizations and experts from around the world to provide extensive evidence thatIsraeli forces are using U.S.-origin weapons in violation of not only international law, but also U.S. law and policy,” said Paul O’Brien, Executive Director of Amnesty International USA. “For 11 months, the Administration has repeatedly turned a blind eye to these grave violations by Israeli authorities, it is time for Congress to act and block these major arms sales or risk the U.S. being complicit.”
In a research briefing, which was submitted to the U.S. government in April, Amnesty International detailed civilian deaths and injuries with U.S.-made weapons, as well as other cases that highlight an overall pattern of unlawful attacks by Israeli forces. The briefing also detailed practices by Israeli forces inconsistent with efforts to mitigate civilian harm and provides clear examples of the misuse of U.S. weapons, the commission of torture and other ill-treatment of Palestinians held under Israeli custody, and the use of unlawful lethal force in law enforcement operations, including in the occupied West Bank. The incidents in the briefing are consistent with a longstanding pattern of attacks by Israel forces that Amnesty International has documented during the 2008-9, 2014, and 2021 escalations in the occupied Gaza Strip. Since April, Amnesty has documented additional attacks with high civilian casualties tied to U.S.-origin weapons.
The International Court of Justice found the risk of genocide in Gaza is plausible and that the government of Israel’s occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territory is unlawful and it should be urgently brought to an end.
Even in its own evaluations, the administration determined that it is “reasonable to assess” that Israeli security forces’ use of U.S. weapons has been “in instances inconsistent” with international humanitarian law. And, the U.S. intelligence community assessed that “Israel could do more to avoid civilian harm.” Yet, the Biden administration continues to approve weapons sales to the Israeli government, including this recent series of sales totaling more than $20 billion. Today, Reuters also reported that the government of Israel says it has secured an additional $8.7 billion military aid package. By introducing these JRDs, Senators Sanders, Welch and Merkley have taken the oversight action sorely needed to try and stop the transfer of U.S.-origin weapons into a context where there is a grave risk they further unlawful killings and other violations of international law, including failing to prevent genocide.
“Given the Israeli government’s continued violations of international law, and the Biden Administration’s unwillingness to stop arms sales, other Senators must urgently join these resolutions and pass them to suspend these major arms sales to the Israeli government,” concluded O’Brien. “With the administration unwilling to act, it is up to members of Congress to urgently use their power and oversight responsibility to correct course for the sake of the human rights of the Palestinian people and vote in favor of these resolutions.”
Additional notes:
On May 10th, the U.S. government concluded that the government of Israel was not restricting humanitarian assistance, despite a public submission from 37 NGOs across the humanitarian, human rights, and civilian protection community that found Israel was restricting humanitarian assistance in Gaza. In a joint letter today, 30 human rights and humanitarian groups warned that conditions have markedly worsened since May and urged the Biden Administration to adjust course on its approach to Gaza given the catastrophic harm to civilians, and ensure a scale up in aid, release of the hostages, and an end to this conflict. Humanitarian organizations’ collective experience on the ground demonstrates that access in Gaza remains arbitrarily denied, restricted, and impeded by the government of Israel.
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