Sanders Takes Action to Block Arms Sales to Israel

US Senator Bernie Sanders has introduced a bill in the Senate that would block arms sales to Israel by the Washington administration.

Sanders announced in a statement on the Senate floor that the US is taking action to prevent billions of dollars worth of arms sales to Israel.

Emphasizing that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's "extremist government" has launched an "all-out war" against the entire Palestinian people, Sanders stated that he has submitted a resolution to the Senate to reject the arms sale.

Sanders pointed out that Netanyahu used US bombs to damage almost 70 percent of structures in the Gaza Strip.

"While Trump and Netanyahu are openly talking about displacing millions of Palestinians, in other words, ethnic cleansing, it would be unconscionable to provide Israel with more of the bombs and weapons it has used to kill so many civilians and make Gaza uninhabitable," Senator Sanders said.

In early February, the US administration approved the sale of new weapons to Israel, including thousands of missiles and ammunition of different categories, with a total value of $7.4 billion.

NATO member countries, South Korea, Australia, Japan, Israel and New Zealand, as well as other countries, have a 15-day legal objection period for arms sales to foreign countries that the U.S. government has approved and officially notified Congress. If no objection is received from Congress during this period to block the sale, the approval process for the sale is complete.