Senate votes down Sanders legislation scrutinizing Israel military aid

WASHINGTON ― The Senate on Tuesday overwhelmingly voted down legislation that would have leveraged U.S. military aid to Israel in a bid to compel the Biden administration to assess whether Israel committed human rights violations during its three-month-long Gaza offensive.

Senators voted 72-11 against the resolution after Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., forced a floor vote by invoking a previously unused provision in the Foreign Assistance Act. Had the Senate passed the resolution, it would have required the State Department to report to Congress within a month on allegations of Israeli human rights violations. Failure to submit the report would have frozen Israel’s annual $3.8 billion in U.S. military aid.

“This aggressive military campaign has led to massive destruction and widespread civilian harm,” Sanders said on the Senate floor last week. “There is extensive evidence showing that it has been, far and away, the most intensive bombing campaign of the 21st century.”

“Given all of this, the scale of the destruction, and the extensive use of U.S. arms in this campaign, including thousands of massive 2,000-pound bombs, Congress must act to conduct real oversight,” he added.

Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky was the lone Republican to vote in favor of the resolution with Sanders and nine Democrats.

The White House came out against the resolution, which also would have required the State Department to report on any steps the Biden administration took to encourage Israel to limit civilian casualties.

“We do not believe that this resolution is the right vehicle to address these issues,” White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters last week. “And we don’t think now is the right time.”

Israel’s Gaza offensive has killed more than 24,000 Palestinians — mostly civilians — while wounding more than 58,000, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. It has displaced some 85% of the Gaza Strip’s 2.2 million people, per the United Nations Relief and Works Agency , with roughly 70% of homes destroyed . Palestinians in Gaza also face mass starvation and dehydration amid a blockade that’s allowing only a trickle of aid to enter .

Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, prompting the offensive. The militant group had killed some 1,200 Israelis , mostly civilians, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

The Sanders resolution would also have required the State Department to certify that no Israeli security units receiving U.S. assistance committed “any gross violations of human rights” since January 2018. It also would have requested more details on State Department and Pentagon vetting procedures for Israel under the Leahy law , which requires the suspension of security aid to any foreign military unit that commits gross human rights violations.

Meanwhile, the Senate has yet to reach a compromise on a massive foreign aid spending bill that includes another $14 billion in Israel military aid. That bill is tied up in a separate debate over unrelated immigration policy changes .

The House in November passed 226-196 a stand-alone $14 billion Israel aid bill based on President Joe Biden’s supplemental spending request in October . But most Democrats oppose that legislation because Republicans added a provision requiring an equal level of cuts to the IRS.

Bryant Harris is the Congress reporter for Defense News. He has covered U.S. foreign policy, national security, international affairs and politics in Washington since 2014. He has also written for Foreign Policy, Al-Monitor, Al Jazeera English and IPS News.

华盛顿——周二，参议院以压倒性多数否决了一项法案，该法案旨在利用美国对以色列的军事援助，迫使拜登政府评估以色列在其长达三个月的加沙攻势中是否犯有侵犯人权的行为。

在佛蒙特州独立参议员伯尼·桑德斯援引《对外援助法》中一项此前未曾使用过的条款，迫使参议院就该决议进行全体投票后，参议院以72票赞成、11票反对否决了该决议。如果参议院通过该决议，将要求国务院在一个月内就以色列侵犯人权的指控向国会提交报告。如果未能提交报告，美国每年向以色列提供的38亿美元军事援助将被冻结。

桑德斯上周在参议院发言时表示：“这场侵略性的军事行动造成了大规模破坏和广泛的平民伤亡。大量证据表明，这是21世纪迄今为止规模最大的轰炸行动。”

“鉴于这一切，破坏的规模，以及美国在这场战争中广泛使用武器，包括数千枚重达 2000 磅的巨型炸弹，国会必须采取行动进行真正的监督，”他补充道。

肯塔基州参议员兰德·保罗是唯一一位投票赞成该决议的共和党人，其他投赞成票的还有桑德斯和九名民主党人。

白宫反对这项决议，该决议还要求国务院报告拜登政府为鼓励以色列减少平民伤亡而采取的任何措施。

白宫国家安全委员会发言人约翰·柯比上周告诉记者：“我们认为这项决议并非解决这些问题的合适途径。而且我们认为现在也不是合适的时机。”

据加沙卫生部统计，以色列对加沙的攻势已造成超过24000名巴勒斯坦人死亡，其中大部分是平民，另有超过58000人受伤。联合国近东救济工程处的数据显示，加沙地带220万人口中约有85%流离失所，约70%的房屋被毁。由于封锁导致援助物资只能少量进入加沙，巴勒斯坦人还面临着大规模的饥饿和脱水。

哈马斯于10月7日袭击以色列，引发了这场攻势。据以色列国防军称，该武装组织杀害了约1200名以色列人，其中大部分是平民。

桑德斯的决议还要求国务院证明，自 2018 年 1 月以来，没有接受美国援助的以色列安全部队犯下“任何严重侵犯人权的行为”。该决议还要求提供更多细节，说明国务院和五角大楼根据《莱希法案》对以色列进行的审查程序。《莱希法案》规定，如果任何外国军事部队犯下严重侵犯人权的行为，则应暂停向其提供安全援助。

与此同时，参议院尚未就一项规模庞大的对外援助支出法案达成妥协，该法案包括向以色列提供140亿美元的军事援助。这项法案目前还卷入了另一场关于无关移民政策变更的辩论中。

11月，众议院以226票赞成、196票反对通过了一项独立的140亿美元以色列援助法案，该法案基于乔·拜登总统10月份提出的补充支出请求。但大多数民主党人反对这项法案，因为共和党人增加了一项条款，要求对美国国税局进行同等幅度的削减。

布莱恩特·哈里斯是《防务新闻》的国会记者。自2014年以来，他一直在华盛顿报道美国外交政策、国家安全、国际事务和政治。他还曾为《外交政策》、《Al-Monitor》、《半岛电视台英语频道》和IPS新闻撰稿。