Sanders drops opposition to guided bombs sale to Israel
Progressives' push to block Israel arms sale falters amid Gaza cease-fire, procedural deadline.
US Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has dropped an effort to block a $735 million sale of precision-guided bombs to Israel amid procedural obstacles.
Sanders’ last-minute objection to the weapons sale last week would have forced the Senate to vote on whether to block it in light of the latest lopsided conflict between Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip.
Sanders moved to introduce a Joint Resolution of Disapproval last Thursday after a similar objection was raised by a group of progressive Democrats in the House. At the time, Israeli airstrikes were pounding civilian and militant infrastructure in Gaza, ultimately killing more than 240 Palestinians, as Hamas rockets continued to stream into Israeli skies.
Congress’ window to oppose the arms transfer was set to close just one day later, on Friday. The conflict was halted just hours later as a cease-fire negotiated by Egypt was accepted by the warring sides.
