A report variety of Senate Democrats, greater than half the caucus, voted in favor of two resolutions to dam U.S. navy gross sales to Israel on Wednesday night time.
Whereas the resolutions finally failed, the vote demonstrated how Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has fractured traditionally bipartisan help in Congress over the humanitarian disaster within the Gaza Strip in Israel’s warfare towards Hamas.
The resolutions, sponsored by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt), failed within the face of all Republicans voting towards the measure and 20 Democrats.
Senators voted 27 in favor and 70 to defeat Sanders’ decision (S.J.Res.34), which sought to dam greater than $675 million in weapons gross sales to Israel.
A second decision (S.J.Res. 41) garnered 24 in favor, and 73 towards. The decision sought to ban the sale of tens of 1000’s of absolutely automated assault rifles.
“No matter occurs tonight, historical past will condemn these of us who did not act within the face of those horrors,” Sanders mentioned forward of the vote.
It was the third time Sanders put senators on report over their navy help for Israel. An April vote garnered 15 Democratic Senators. A vote in November 2024 garnered 18 Democratic senators.
Democrats framed their opposition to navy support to Israel as a protest towards Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and never as opposition to Israel as an entire.
Voting sure for the primary time included Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), the vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
“This legislative device shouldn’t be excellent, however frankly, it’s time to say sufficient to the struggling of harmless younger youngsters and households,” she mentioned in an announcement explaining her vote.
“As a longtime good friend and supporter of Israel, I’m voting sure to ship a message: the Netanyahu authorities can not proceed with this technique. Netanyahu has extended this warfare at each flip to remain in energy.”
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), the rating member of the Senate Overseas Relations Committee, additionally voted sure. Whereas she voted in favor of Sanders’ November decision, she voted towards his April decision.
“I’ll proceed to face up for the existence of Israel and the security of its residents. I may even proceed to help Israel’s proper to defend itself, however I can not in good conscience vote in help of weapons till the human anguish in Gaza involves an finish,” she mentioned in an announcement.
The criticism towards Netanyahu matches latest polling on People’ attitudes towards the Israeli chief. A Gallup ballot taken in early July recorded {that a} majority of People disapprove of Netanyahu, at 52 p.c, his highest unfavorable ranking since 1997.
The ballot diverged alongside celebration strains. Two-thirds of Republicans, 67 p.c, have a good view of Netanyahu, compared to 19 percent of independents and 9 p.c of Democrats.
These numbers largely mirrored People’ attitudes in the direction of Israel’s navy motion. Assist reached an all-time low, with 32 p.c of People supportive of the warfare. Amongst Democrats, there’s solely eight p.c help for Israel’s navy motion, though a big majority of Republicans help the warfare at 71 p.c.
The Senate vote comes as worldwide outrage is peaking towards Israel for the humanitarian disaster within the Gaza Strip, the place meals disaster consultants warned earlier this week that the “worst-case situation” of famine is going on, and as deaths from hunger start to tick up.
Whereas Israel has began permitting extra meals and humanitarian help into the strip after a months-long blockade, the nation is turning into more and more remoted over Netanyahu’s failure to sign an endpoint for the warfare and pictures of emaciated youngsters and the widespread dying within the strip.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer introduced Monday that the U.Ok. would be a part of France in recognizing an impartial Palestinian state except Israel took steps to finish the warfare. French President Emanuel Macron will formalize its recognition on the United Nations Normal Meeting in September.
And President Trump broke with Netanyahu earlier this week in acknowledging that hunger is stalking Palestinians within the Strip. However he has not signaled that he’ll leverage U.S. navy help to realize a ceasefire.
The administration has pointed to Hamas because the impediment to a ceasefire deal. The U.S. is proposing a ceasefire that will require Hamas to launch not less than 20 dwelling hostages and the our bodies of 30 others, and that will enable for a scale-up of humanitarian support into the strip.
The dying toll in Gaza handed a grim milestone this week, with greater than 60,000 Palestinians killed because the begin of Israel’s warfare towards Hamas, launched following Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist assault, the place the group killed roughly 1,200 individuals and took 251 hostage.
Whereas the dying toll in Gaza doesn’t distinguish between militants and civilians, Israel claims it has killed about 20,000 fighters.