Senate Dem says blocking weapons shipments ‘on the table’ if Israel invades Rafah
Democrats are increasingly worried about what an all-out Israeli offensive on Rafah will mean for civilians in Gaza.
Congressional action to block U.S. arms sales to Israel is “certainly something that’s on the table” if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launches a large-scale invasion of Rafah, a top senator said Tuesday.
The remarks by Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) come amid pressure from Democrats for President Joe Biden to take a tougher tack in his rift with Netanyahu over Israel’s strategy in Gaza. Netanyahu said in an interview published Sunday that he intends to press ahead with a Rafah invasion in defiance of Biden’s warning that such an offensive would be a “red line.”
“And so if the president’s gonna say something’s a red line, it’s essential the president have an accountability structure,” Van Hollen said in an interview, adding that Netanyahu’s comments show “why it’s all the more important that if we’re going to mean what we say, it’s very important to have … accountability.”
Van Hollen said this would not apply to defensive weapons the U.S. provides Israel, such as Iron Dome.
Democrats are concerned about the scenes coming out of Gaza, where 2.2 million Palestinians struggle for access to food, water, medicine, shelter and other necessities. About 1 million Palestinians fled to Rafah to escape Israel’s retaliation against Hamas, which started the war by killing 1,200 people on Oct. 7.
The Biden administration has asked Israel for a concrete and comprehensive plan to protect civilians if they invade the city, which it has yet to receive even as Netanyahu vows to send forces there. An Israeli official, granted anonymity to reveal a sensitive military estimate, said Hamas has about four battalions in the city, each comprising “hundreds of fighters.”
Meanwhile, Biden ordered the U.S. military to build a temporary port for Gaza so more aid can get into the enclave, while simultaneously pressuring Israel to allow more supplies to enter via land routes.
Van Hollen was one of seven Democrats who signed a new letter sent Monday from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to Biden, which argued that by continuing to arm Israel, Biden was breaching the Foreign Assistance Act, which bars military support from going to any nation that restricts the delivery of humanitarian aid.
“Our language is very clear that if any country blocks U.S. humanitarian aid, our country’s financial support should be suspended,” Sanders told reporters Tuesday. “And no one doubts that that is exactly what Israel is doing, precipitating this horrific humanitarian crisis. So I think what we have to do is enforce the law and make it clear that Israel cannot continue.”
In a letter to Biden last month, Van Hollen and three other Democrats argued that the U.S. should not send more offensive weapons to Netanyahu until he commits to forgo a military operation in Rafah, allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza and prioritize the return of hostages taken by Hamas.
Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), one of the signatories of last month’s Van Hollen letter, said in an interview that the U.S. has a right to condition aid to Israel, and that it’s expected to comply with human rights standards.
“We expect them to align with our values,” Schatz said. “That doesn’t mean the operation of the war is directed by the Pentagon. But it does mean that it has to not turn our stomachs. … And while Israel has every right to do what it feels is necessary, they do not have a right to our weapons to do that.”
It’s unclear how, exactly, some lawmakers would block weapons from reaching Israel, but there are some tools senators could use. Under the Arms Export Control Act, for example, a lawmaker can file a joint resolution of disapproval to block an arms sale, which would automatically be granted a vote. However, the maneuver has never successfully blocked an arms sale.
POLITICO first reported that Biden will consider conditioning military aid to Israel if the country moves forward with a large-scale invasion of Rafah, a city in Gaza on the border with Egypt. National security adviser Jake Sullivan on Tuesday called that and other similar stories “uninformed speculation by anonymous officials.”
“Our position is that a military operation in Rafah that does not protect civilians, that cuts off the main arteries of humanitarian assistance and that places enormous pressure on the Israel-Egypt border is not something that he can support,” Sullivan told reporters. “We are talking to the Israelis about that. We are working through it.”
In a weekend interview with MSNBC, Biden said such an operation without a plan in place would cross his “red line,” though he vowed to keep sending weapons to Israel, especially the Iron Dome missile defense system that protects the country from Hamas’ rockets.
But in an interview with Axel Springer, POLITICO’s parent company, Netanyahu promised that a Rafah campaign would take place. “We’ll go there. We’re not going to leave them. You know, I have a red line. You know what the red line is? That October 7 doesn’t happen again. Never happens again,” he said.
The U.S. is working with Israel, Egypt, Qatar and Hamas to broker a deal that would see a release of prisoners and hostages — the elderly, women, children and the infirm — as well as a six-week cease-fire. Sullivan said such a fighting pause could be extended if Hamas agreed to the deal on the table.
“The fact that they will not do so says a lot to me about Hamas’ regard for innocent Palestinian civilians, the fact that they are holding on to those folks and refusing to release them,” he said.