FILE – Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. , speaks at a crusade on Jan. 31, 2016, in Waterloo, Iowa. The Iowa caucuses have grown for more than 50 years to become a fixture of American politics. AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
WASHINGTON — In a notable test Tuesday, Sen. Bernie Sanders forced colleagues to decide whether to investigate human rights abuses in the Israel-Hamas war, a step toward potentially limiting U.S. military aid to Israel as its devastating attacks on Gaza grind past 100 days.
Senators overwhelmingly rejected the bill, the first of its kind to rely on a decades-old law that would require the U. S. State Department to produce, within 30 days, a report on whether Israel’s war effort in Gaza violates human rights and foreign agreements. . If the leadership fails to do so, long-secured U. S. military aid to Israel could be temporarily cut off.
But the roll call vote begins to reveal the depth of unease among U.S. lawmakers over Israel’s prosecution of the war against Hamas. With no apparent end to the bombardment, Israel’s attacks against Palestinians, an attempt to root out Hamas leaders, are viewed by some as disproportional to the initial terrorist attack on Israel.
A total of 11 senators joined Sanders in the procedural vote, mostly Democrats from all parties, while 72 opposed.
“To my mind, Israel has the absolute right to defend itself from Hamas’ barbaric terrorist attack on October 7, no question about that,” Sanders told AP during an interview Monday ahead of the vote.
“But what Israel has no right to do — use the help of the U. S. military — it doesn’t have the right to go to war against the entire Palestinian people,” said Sanders, the Vermont independent. “And in my opinion, that’s what happened. “
The White House has rejected Sanders’ approach, calling it “unworkable,” as President Joe Biden’s administration seeks a transition with Israel and works to ensure at home and abroad that it opposes a backlash to the scenes of destruction in Gaza.
The Senate’s action comes as Biden’s request for an additional $106 billion in national security assistance for Israel, as well as Ukraine and other military wishes, has stalled. Republicans in Congress insist on pushing sweeping policy tweaks to prevent immigration across the U. S. -Mexico border.