The Senate on Tuesday sidestepped an attempt to use a little-known statute to force the State Department to publicly assess whether Israel has been using U.S.-provided weapons to violate Palestinian human rights in the Gaza Strip.
Senators voted, 72-11, to table a motion made by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., that would discharge from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee his resolution to direct the State Department to report on whether Israel’s usage of U.S. security assistance complies with international human rights standards.
Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Benjamin L. Cardin, D-Md., made the motion to table Sanders’ motion, averting a floor vote on an issue that many Democrats wanted to avoid. Though many of them acknowledge the civilian cost of Israel’s effort to eliminate the Palestinian militant group Hamas from the Gaza Strip, they also don’t want to be seen as critics of Israel’s response to Hamas’ deadly attack on Oct. 7, 2023.
