Palestinians inspect the damage following an Israeli airstrike on the Al-Remal area in Gaza City on October 9, 2023. Israel continued to fight Hamas fighters on October 10, massing tens of thousands of soldiers and heavy armor around the Gaza Strip after promising a major offensive. A blow to the surprise attack of Palestinian militants. Photo: Naaman Omar apaimages.

Thank you all for being here. And I want to thank Senators Merkley, Welch, and Van Hollen for being with us. We’re here to discuss the three Joint Ratifying Resolutions, or JRDs, that the Senate will vote on tomorrow. These:

SJRes.111 – To block 120 mm tank shells.

SJRes.113 – To intercept 120 mm high-explosive mortar rounds.

SJRes.115 – To thwart JDAMs, which are guidance kits added to most of the bombs dropped on Gaza.

The truth is that from a legal perspective, these decisions are not complex. They are cut and dried. The United States government is currently violating the law, and every member of the Senate who believes in the rule of law should vote for these resolutions.

The Foreign Assistance Act and the Arms Export Control Act are clear: The United States cannot provide weapons to countries that violate internationally recognized human rights or impede U.S. humanitarian assistance. According to the United Nations, much of the international community, and all humanitarian organizations operating in Gaza, Israel is clearly violating these laws. Under these circumstances, it is illegal for the US government to provide them with more assault weapons. Joint Consent Acts are Congress’s means of enforcing the law.

As I have said many times, Israel had the right to openly respond to the horrific Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, in which approximately 1,200 innocent people were killed and 250 taken hostage. I don’t think anyone in the US Senate is opposed to this. But Prime Minister Netanyahu’s extremist government has not only launched a war against Hamas. He waged an all-out war against the Palestinian people. More than 43,000 Palestinians were killed and more than 103,000 injured out of Gaza’s population of just 2.2 million; 60 percent of them are women, children and the elderly. Two-thirds of buildings in Gaza were damaged or destroyed. This includes 87 percent of residences, 84 percent of health facilities, and 70 percent of water and sanitation facilities. Each of Gaza’s 12 universities was bombed, as were hundreds of schools. There has been no electricity in Gaza for 13 months.

As terrible as the situation is, what is happening today is even worse. As a result of Israel blocking desperately needed humanitarian aid, the volume of aid sent to Gaza in recent weeks is lower than at any point since the beginning of the war. More help is needed, less is reaching out. Result: Thousands of children face malnutrition and hunger. According to the latest reports of the UN, “The situation emerging in Northern Gaza is apocalyptic.” “The entire population of northern Gaza is at risk of dying from disease, famine and violence.”

And Israel’s recent decision to ban UNRWA, the backbone of the humanitarian response in Gaza, will only make this dire situation worse.

Frankly, what is happening in Gaza today is indescribable, but what makes it even more painful is that much of it was done with US weapons and American taxpayer dollars. Last year alone, the United States provided Israel with $18 billion in military aid and delivered more than 50,000 tons of military equipment.

In other words, the United States is complicit in this atrocity. This complicity must end, and that is the purpose of these decisions. It is time to tell the Netanyahu government that they cannot use US taxpayer dollars and American weapons in a way that violates US and international law and our moral values.

It is also time to make clear to Netanyahu that he cannot continue to undermine US foreign policy goals: The US government wants a ceasefire in the hostage agreement; Netanyahu blocked an agreement to preserve his coalition. The US government wants more humanitarian aid to reach desperate people in Gaza; Netanyahu is preventing this. The US government wants regional tensions under control; Netanyahu rejected diplomatic outlets and launched several reckless attacks without consulting the United States. The US government wants to stop settlement expansion and settler violence in the West Bank; Netanyahu and his ministers have led record settlement expansion and armed extremist settlers. The US government wants a plan for post-war governance in Gaza; Netanyahu will not intervene.

And by the way, blocking these sales would also be consistent with actions taken by some of our closest allies. Britain has suspended 30 arms export licenses after concluding the risk of them being used in breach of international law was unacceptable. Germany, Italy, Spain, Canada, Belgium and the Netherlands have also taken similar steps. UN bodies have called for an end to arms shipments fueling the conflict.