Pelosi Joins Dem Lawmakers In Calling For Biden to Stop Giving US Weapons to Israel

 

(Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Images)

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) joined with several dozen Democratic lawmakers in calling for President Joe Biden to halt arm transfers to Israel following the killing of seven aid workers in Gaza earlier this week.

On Tuesday, an IDF airstrike in Gaza killed seven aid workers in the region, leading to backlash from Israel’s western allies, including the United States. Israel’s military later dismissed senior officers in the airstrike.

However, more than three dozen members of Congress signed a letter demanding Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken reevaluate their decision to provide Israel with U.S. weapons amid their current war with Hamas, according to NBC News.

“In light of this incident, we strongly urge you to reconsider your recent decision to authorize the transfer of a new arms package to Israel, and to withhold this and any future offensive arms transfers until a full investigation into the airstrike is completed,” the lawmakers wrote.

“We also urge you to withhold these transfers if Israel fails to sufficiently mitigate harm to innocent civilians in Gaza, including aid workers, and if it fails to facilitate — or arbitrarily denies or restricts the transport and delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza,” they added.

The House lawmakers also demanded the Biden administration “conduct a through investigation” into the airstrike that killed seven aid workers with the World Central Kitchen organization. The letter asks the administration to halt providing Israel with weapons while the investigation is pending.

Earlier this week, Biden held a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu where he demanded that Israel do more to mitigate civilian deaths and attacks on humanitarian workers in Gaza.

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