[pjw] INFO: Sen. Sanders to force Senate to vote on Israel weapons ban

[Peace and Justice Works]

Hi
Today new broke that Sen. Bernie Sanders is going to force the Senate to 
vote on resolutions preventing offensive weapons sales to Israel. 
Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley cosponsored at least one of the resolutions.

https://www.axios.com/2024/11/12/sanders-block-israel-military-aid-resolution

This comes as international groups including Amnesty International call on 
President Biden to follow through on his "threat" to stop sending weapons 
if Israel failed to improve humanitarian conditions by November 12... 
neither of which happened.

https://www.amnesty.org.uk/press-releases/usa-biden-administration-refusal-stop-weapons-israel-unconscionable

A PJW member sent the below news update from the nonprofit DAWN. It has a 
lot of good, further information on the situation.
dan handelman
peace and justice works iraq affinity group

  https://dawnmena.org/us-cease-and-desist-support-for-israels-violations-of-u-s-and-international-law/
U.S.: Cease and Desist Support for Israel's Violations of U.S. and 
International Law
DAWN
November 12, 2024

Israel fails to meet demands in U.S. ultimatum sent 30 days ago

(Washington D.C., November 12, 2024) — The United States government should 
immediately cease all forms of support for Israel's military operations in 
Gaza, as Israel has failed to comply with the ultimatum set by Secretaries 
Blinken and Austin on October 13, 2024, DAWN said today in a letter to 
both secretaries.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/oct/15/us-israel-weapons-gaza-aid-letter
https://dawnmena.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/30-day-deadline-Letter.pdf

Continued U.S. assistance violates U.S. and international law and could 
expose U.S. officials, including President Biden, Secretary Blinken, and 
Secretary Austin, to potential prosecution under the Rome Statute of the 
International Criminal Court (ICC) for aiding and abetting war crimes and 
crimes against humanity.

"With the October 13 letter leaving no ambiguity about the Biden 
administration's awareness of Israel's ongoing violations, continued 
support constitutes knowingly aiding and abetting these crimes," said 
Sarah Leah Whitson, DAWN's executive director. "The Biden administration 
must uphold U.S. and international laws that prohibit assistance to 
nations committing war crimes and crimes against humanity."

In a "scorecard" released on November 12, 2024 titled, The Gaza Scorecard: 
Israel Fails to Comply with U.S. Humanitarian Access Demands in Gaza, a 
consortium of international humanitarian organizations including Oxfam 
International, CARE, Norwegian Refugee Council, Save the Children and 
others concluded that Israel has failed to meet any of the 16 specific 
demands outlined in the October 13 letter by the U.S. secretaries. The 
report found that despite U.S. insistence on enabling a minimum of 350 aid 
trucks per day, instituting humanitarian pauses, and facilitating access 
to northern Gaza, Israel has not only failed to comply with these demands 
but actively worsened conditions. This is evident particularly in northern 
Gaza, where the population now faces famine-like conditions. The Gaza 
Scorecard also underscores that Israel's actions have directly impeded the 
flow of lifesaving food, water, and medical supplies, leaving aid 
organizations unable to operate effectively. Moreover, it details Israel's 
failure to comply with other demands, including its refusal to rescind 
unlawful evacuation orders when there is no operational need, failure to 
end the isolation of northern Gaza, and its refusal to reaffirm that there 
will be no Israeli government policy of forced evacuation of civilians 
from northern to southern Gaza. Furthermore, Israel has not allowed 
displaced Palestinians to return to their homes inland and in northern 
Gaza, exacerbating overcrowding in southern Gaza and effectively 
depopulating northern Gaza.

https://webassets.oxfamamerica.org/media/documents/The_Gaza_Scorecard.pdf

Today's scorecard is not the only indicator of Israel's failure to comply 
with the ultimatum from U.S. secretaries. Numerous other sources find that 
Israel has escalated its belligerent efforts, killing over 1,250 civilians 
and forcibly evacuating tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians from 
the targeted neighborhoods, resulting in the nearly complete depopulation 
of the northern neighborhoods of Gaza.

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/drop-it-and-well-bomb-you-israeli-soldiers-mark-displaced-palestinians-glow-sticks

In addition, for a significant portion of the 30-day reporting period, 
Israel completely blocked humanitarian aid, including lifesaving food, 
tents for sheltering displaced Palestinians, fuel, medical supplies, 
insulin and other forms of medication from entering Gaza. Despite an 
increase in aid entering in recent days, Israel has defied the requirement 
set forth in the letter demanding that Israel allow a daily minimum of 350 
trucks of humanitarian aid into Gaza, leading to intensifying shortages of 
food, water, and medicine in the besieged north. An Israeli 
brigadier-general told reporters last week that the IDF has "no intention 
of allowing the residents of the northern Gaza Strip to return to their 
homes." Adding insult to injury, during the 30-day reporting period, 
Israel passed legislation banning UNRWA, a UN agency significantly funded 
by the U.S., which will have the effect of blocking nearly all essential 
humanitarian operations in Gaza, further aggravating the humanitarian 
crisis.

https://www.nrc.no/news/2024/september/israels-siege-now-blocks-83-of-food-aid-reaching-gaza-new-data-reveals/
https://apnews.com/article/famine-northern-gaza-humanitarian-aid-2710a0e41f740fb50cc8075fec7df62d
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/nov/06/palestinians-will-not-be-allowed-to-return-to-homes-in-northern-gaza-says-idf

The stakes could not be higher. A report published on November 8, 2024 by 
the independent Famine Review Committee (FRC) found that "immediate 
action, within days not weeks, is required from all actors who are 
directly taking part in the conflict, or have influence on its conduct, to 
avert and alleviate this catastrophic situation." Key findings from this 
rare alert by FRC also include that "there is a strong likelihood that 
famine is imminent in areas within the northern Gaza Strip." An updated 
report also published on November 8, 2024 by the UN's Human Rights Office 
presents grave concerns with the number of verified civilian deaths since 
the beginning of the war, concluding that over 70% of these victims are 
likely women and children, adding that an overwhelming number of these 
victims were killed while in residential buildings.

https://www.ipcinfo.org/fileadmin/user_upload/ipcinfo/docs/IPC_FRC_Alert_Gaza_Nov2024.pdf
https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/countries/opt/20241106-Gaza-Update-Report-OPT.pdf

"While Israel manipulates the U.S. by allowing some aid trucks into other 
parts of Gaza in the days leading up to the deadline, the performative act 
did not bring any humanitarian aid to  the besieged northern neighborhoods 
of Gaza," said Raed Jarrar, DAWN's advocacy director. "Even more 
concerning, no forcibly displaced Palestinian from the northern 
neighborhoods of Gaza has been allowed to return home."

Under Section 620i of the FAA (22 U.S.C. § 2378-1), U.S. support to any 
government obstructing U.S. humanitarian aid is prohibited. Israel's 
consistent restriction of humanitarian access to Gaza directly contravenes 
this law. Other U.S. laws, regulations, and policies, including the Arms 
Export Control Act (AECA), the War Crimes Act of 1996 (18 U.S.C.§ 2441), 
and the U.S. Conventional Arms Transfer Policy, mandate that U.S.-provided 
arms be used solely for legitimate self-defense.

Evidence indicates that Israel is instead using U.S. arms in operations 
that exacerbate forced displacements and target civilian infrastructure—a 
direct violation of the AECA's terms. Furthermore, National Security 
Memorandum 20 (NSM-20) obligates the U.S. to ensure that its foreign 
assistance aligns with humanitarian principles. Israel's actions in Gaza 
are incompatible with these principles, making continued U.S. support a 
breach of NSM-20, the FAA, and other U.S. laws and regulations.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/10/30/us-weapons-israel-gaza-civilian-deaths/

"The U.S. had a clear legal obligation to impose an arms embargo on Israel 
many months ago when it became evident that it was using U.S. military 
assistance to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity," said Michael 
Schaeffer Omer-Man, DAWN's director of research for Israel-Palestine. 
"Following the U.S. presidential election, the Biden Administration has no 
more excuses to continue arming Israel in violation of U.S. and 
international law."

The ICC has already accepted jurisdiction over crimes committed in 
Palestine, which is a State Party to the Rome Statute. While the U.S. is 
not a current signatory to the Rome Statute, the ICC's jurisdiction 
extends to crimes committed on the territory of state parties, including 
Palestine. Under Article 25 of the Rome Statute, the ICC can hold 
accountable individuals who aid, abet, or otherwise assist in the 
commission of crimes, such as war crimes or crimes against humanity.

https://www.icc-cpi.int/sites/default/files/2024-05/Rome-Statute-eng.pdf

Continued U.S. support to Israel, particularly in light of top officials' 
knowledge of its well-documented violations, may very well meet the 
threshold for criminal aiding and abetting.

In addition, in May 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued 
an order requiring Israel to halt actions that could lead to genocide, 
specifically mandating an end to forced displacements, protection for 
civilians, and guaranteed humanitarian access. As a signatory to the 
Genocide Convention, the U.S. is obligated to prevent acts of genocide and 
to avoid complicity in them. The ICJ order underscores Israel's actions as 
plausibly genocidal, and the U.S. should halt its military support for 
Israel to comply with its Convention obligations and uphold international 
legal norms. The 1988 Genocide Convention Implementation Act incorporates 
the Genocide Convention into U.S. law and criminalizes genocide offenses. 
In addition to prohibiting the commission of genocide, the Genocide 
Convention prohibits complicity in genocide and requires states "to 
prevent" genocide. The ICJ has held that a "State's obligation to prevent, 
and the corresponding duty to act, arise at the instant that the State 
learns of, or should normally have learned of, the existence of a serious 
risk that genocide will be committed" (emphasis added). Once a state knows 
or should know of a serious risk that genocide will be committed, its duty 
to prevent it requires that, if a state "has available to it means likely 
to have a deterrent effect on" the suspected potential offender, "it is 
under a duty to make such use of these means as the circumstances permit."

"If President Biden, Secretary Blinken, and Secretary Austin continue to 
support Israel after this letter with full knowledge of its 
well-documented violations, they could be putting themselves at risk of 
ICC prosecution for enabling Israeli crimes," said Whitson.

In a video released on November 12, 2024, nine former U.S. government 
employees—Josh Paul, Alex Smith, Hala Rharrit, Stacy Gilbert, Annelle 
Sheline, Tariq Habash, Maryam Hassanien, Harrison Mann, and Lily 
Greenberg—highlighted the administration's failure to act decisively 
despite acknowledging the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza and 
Israel's ongoing restrictions of U.S. humanitarian aid. The former 
officials criticized President Biden for prioritizing Israel's interests 
over U.S. laws and values. "We are calling on President Biden to uphold 
his own commitments to American law and principles, halt weapons transfers 
to Israel, and work to stop the spread of the conflict while protecting 
American interests," they emphasized. The video ends with a plea to "act 
before it's too late—for Palestinians, Americans, and the rule of law."

https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/1jyqpPMNlZcMjGEjLRb7zB6hzzS49sliM