Warren urges Congress to block sale of fighter jets to Israel
The U.S. government has not identified any incidents where Israelis have violated international humanitarian law during the war in Gaza.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is urging Congress to block the White House from selling F-15 fighter jets to Israel in protest of the country's actions in Gaza.
"I think it is clear that Congress has a responsibility to act. We have legal tools here. And as I said, we cannot approve the sale of arms to a country that is in violation of our own laws on this. And that includes access to humanitarian relief," Warren said last week on CNN.
She also accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of creating a "humanitarian disaster" in Gaza, after Israel responded militarily to Hamas terrorists who invaded on Oct. 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people and kidnapping 240 others.
The Biden administration has reportedly been considering the sale of up to 50 F-15s to Israel in a deal worth more than $18 billion.
"American policy has actually been for a very long time that we do not provide military aid to people or countries that are in violation of international law or domestic U.S. law," Warren also said on CNN. "And our laws are clear that anyone engaged in combat has to be careful about civilian life and has to give access to humanitarian aid. Prime Minister Netanyahu is clearly not doing that."
However, the U.S. government has not identified any incidents where Israelis have violated international humanitarian law during the war in Gaza, White House National Security spokesman John Kirby said last week.