US senator Bernie Sanders moves to block arms sales to Israel, while Republican urges speeding up arms sales

While Israel expands its military offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon, a political struggle is playing out within the halls of the U.S. Congress, with President Joe Biden caught in the middle.

While an influential member of the House of Representatives urges more weapons to be sent to Israel, another veteran member of the Senate is calling on the president to block further arms transfers as violence continues in the Middle East.

Israel ground offensive into Lebanon

After killing Hezbollah commander Hassan Nasrallah with an airstrike on Sep. 28, Israel expanded ground operations in southern Lebanon against Hezbollah, which has been firing rockets at Israel since Oct. 8, 2023, in solidarity with Hamas.

These attacks have displaced tens of thousands of Israelis and Lebanese on both sides of the border, after almost a year of conflict.

Israel's latest ground operation has ended speculation of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, as more violence in the Middle East looks certain after Iran launched ballistic missiles at Israel in retaliation for Nasrallah's death.

Bernie Sanders's initiative to block arms sales

With Israel expanding its military offensive, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders introduced a measure to halt the sale of arms from the U.S. to Israel.

Sanders, who is Jewish and represents the state of Vermont, announced on Sep. 25 that he had introduced Joint Resolutions of Disapproval to "block the sale of more than US$20 billion (S$25.9 billion) in offensive U.S. weaponry to Israel."

Sanders is officially an independent, but often caucuses (aligns his vote with) the Democratic Party in the U.S. Senate, which is the upper house of Congress.

In his statement, he said Israel had a clear right to defend itself after Hamas's terror attacks and kidnapping of hostages on Oct. 7, 2023.

However, Sanders blamed Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's "extremist government" for waging an "all-out war" against the Palestinians in Gaza, killing over 41,000.

"Netanyahu has bombed hospitals and schools, starved children, destroyed infrastructure and housing stock, and made life unlivable in Gaza. The United States must end its complicity in this atrocity," he said.

He added that the sale of U.S. weapons includes clear requirements for their use, and said that Israel has violated those rules.

Sanders pointed out that President Joe Biden has called for de-escalation and is pushing for a ceasefire deal that would also see the return of the hostages. However, he blamed Netanyahu for prolonging the conflict.

"That is the policy of the United States: to pursue a ceasefire for hostage deal that will prevent further escalation, stop the killing and the rocket attacks, allow displaced people to return to their homes sooner, and finally bring the hostages home.

Netanyahu has resisted these calls. Instead, at every stage of this conflict, when presented with the choice between military escalation and diplomacy, Netanyahu has chosen to escalate to preserve his coalition at home.

For all of these reasons – moral, legal, and strategic – sending more weapons to Netanyahu’s extremist government is unacceptable."

Michael McCaul wants more arms sales

On the other side of the coin, U.S. Representative Michael McCaul has called on Biden to hasten the transfer of arms to Israel, including 2,000-pound (907-kg) bombs that have been held up so far out of humanitarian concerns, Reuters reported.

McCaul, a Republican from Texas and the influential chair of the House foreign affairs committee, said in a letter to Biden: "I urge you to act today to ensure all weapons shipments to Israel, including 2,000-pound bombs, are expedited to support our ally."

As chair, McCaul reviews all major sales of U.S. arms overseas.

He pointed out that there are over 10 weapons sale agreements that have not yet received final approval and have been held up for four months.

Earlier this year, Biden paused the sale of the 2,000-pound bombs out of concerns for civilian casualties in densely-populated areas like Gaza.

However, McCaul believes Israel's military needs those bombs to break into the underground tunnels and bunkers used by Hamas and Hezbollah:

"We all wish Israel did not need these larger bombs, but they are operationally necessary as Israel’s enemies, including Hamas and Hezbollah, are intentionally using deeply buried subterranean bunkers and tunnels. I call on you to allow these weapons, which are ready to ship, to be sent to Israel immediately."

Political stand-off

The duelling lobbying efforts by Sanders and McCaul demonstrates the bind that Biden finds himself in, as the U.S. attempts to navigate a way out of the conflict.

The U.S. has traditionally been a close ally of Israel, no matter who occupies the White House, and Biden has publicly supported Israel during the conflict.

However, youths and Muslims in the U.S. have threatened to withdraw their support from Biden and the Democratic Party if he does not take firmer action against Israel, jeopardising Kamala Harris's chances of winning the presidential election in November this year.

A defeat for Harris would see a victory for Republican contender Donald Trump and his VP pick, JD Vance, both of whom have been full-throated in their support of Israel's military offensives against Hamas and Hezbollah.

Top image from Bernie Sanders and Michael McCaul's Facebook pages.