US senator slams Biden administration for not punishing Israel over Gaza aid

Washington: US senator criticises Biden administration for failure to punish Israel over Gaza aid

The Biden administration has come under fire from progressive US Senator Elizabeth Warren for failing to hold Israel accountable after Washington issued an ultimatum last month to improve aid deliveries to Gaza.

The Democratic senator supported a joint resolution of disapproval in Congress after the State Department stated that no punitive action would be taken against Israel, according to The Guardian.

Official Israeli numbers reveal that the amount of aid reaching Gaza has decreased to its lowest level in 11 months, despite the White House's 30-day ultimatum threatening Israel with loss of military support if aid was not boosted, Arab News reported.

The deadline expired on Tuesday, with international humanitarian organisations warning that Israel had fallen far short of Washington's promised aid targets. Food security specialists also warned that famine was looming in parts of Gaza. The State Department declared that Israel was making modest progress on help and was not preventing relief, implying that it had not broken US law.

Warren, senator for Massachusetts, said in a statement: “On Oct. 13, the Biden administration told Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu that his government had 30 days to increase humanitarian aid into Gaza or face the consequences under US law, which would include cutting off military assistance.

“Thirty days later, the Biden administration acknowledged that Israel’s actions had not significantly expanded food, water and basic necessities for desperate Palestinian civilians.

“Despite Netanyahu’s failure to meet the United States’ demands, the Biden administration has taken no action to restrict the flow of offensive weapons.”

If the House and Senate pass the Warren-supported joint resolution of disapproval, Congress will be able to overrule presidential decisions.

Bernie Sanders, Vermont's independent senator, announced that next week he will introduce additional joint resolutions of disapproval to prevent specific arms sales to Israel.

“There is no longer any doubt that Netanyahu’s extremist government is in clear violation of US and international law as it wages a barbaric war against the Palestinian people in Gaza,” he said.

On Thursday, 15 senators and 69 Congress members revealed plans to force the Biden administration to hold Israeli Cabinet members accountable. The plan targets Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir for the increase in Israeli settler violence, settlement construction, and destabilisation throughout the West Bank. Warren called the Biden administration's failure to hold Israel accountable as a "grave mistake" that "undermines American credibility worldwide.”

She added: “If this administration will not act, Congress must step up to enforce US law and hold the Netanyahu government accountable through a joint resolution of disapproval.”