U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders to force Senate votes on blocking arms for Israel

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders said on Thursday he would force votes next week on resolutions that would block $8.8 billion in arms sales to Israel, citing the human rights crisis faced by Palestinians in Gaza after Israel’s bombardment of the enclave and its suspension of aid deliveries. “(Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu has clearly violated U.S. and international law in this brutal war, and we must end our complicity in the carnage,” Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, said in a statement announcing his plan. A decades-long tradition of strong bipartisan support for Israel in the U.S. Congress means resolutions to stop weapons sales are unlikely to pass, but backers hope that raising the issue will encourage Israel’s government and U.S. administrations to do more to protect civilians.