Sanders: restore UNRWA funding/cut Israel military funding

https://www.commondreams.org/news/sanders-military-funding-israel

Sanders Pushes Amendment to 'Cut Billions in Offensive Military Funding to Israel'

"Enough is enough," said Sen. Bernie Sanders. "We cannot continue to fund this horrific war."

JAKE JOHNSON
Apr 23, 2024

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders said Monday that he would put forth an amendment to remove offensive military funding for Israel from a House-passed aid package that the Senate is set to consider this week.

The amendment would "cut billions in offensive military funding to Israel from the proposed national security supplemental package," Sanders (I-Vt.) said in a statement. The package, approved by the Republican-controlled House over the weekend, includes $17 billion in unconditional military assistance to the Israeli government, which stands accused on the world stage of perpetrating genocide in Gaza.

The senator said he would also offer an amendment to "protect essential humanitarian operations" in the Gaza Strip, where millions of people are facing the possibility of starvation due to Israel's suffocating and illegal blockade. At least 28 children under the age of 12 have starved to death in Gaza in recent weeks. Sanders' amendment would restore U.S. funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the most important aid agency working in Gaza.

An independent report released Monday found that Israel has not provided any evidence to support its claim that a significant number of UNRWA employees are members of terrorist organizations. The U.S. suspended its UNRWA aid in late January in response to Israel's unsubstantiated allegations against the agency's workers, and the House-passed Israel legislation would prohibit funding for the organization.

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