U.S. Rep. Gregory Meeks, the highest Democrat on the U.S. Home of Representatives Overseas Affairs Committee, is obstructing a Trump administration proposal for a $2.8 billion bomb sale to Israel.
Meeks, a longtime supporter of Israel from New York, stated he wouldn’t clear the transaction attributable to considerations that these 2,000-pound munitions wouldn’t be utilized in accordance with U.S. and worldwide legislation.
Regardless of his considerations, Meeks stated in an announcement that he stays “firmly dedicated to Israel’s safety and its capacity to defend itself towards critical regional threats.”
The 15-term congressman, identified for his pragmatic and reasonable stances, voiced concern concerning the potential sale of 40,000 of those bombs, which he described as “a few of the most harmful munitions in our arsenal.”
The proposal, he added, raised questions “about how these munitions could possibly be utilized in densely populated areas of Gaza and Lebanon.”
Israel has stated its use of American munitions is at all times in compliance with U.S. and different related legal guidelines.
If Democrats are in a position to retake the Home majority in November, Meeks would then turn out to be the chairman of the committee in January.
Greater than two years in the past, in April 2024, Meeks introduced that he would block the sale of F-15 fighter jets to Israel, if he didn’t obtain “assurances” as to the supposed functions of those jets.
On the time, he informed CNN that he had “enough of the indiscriminate bombing” and needed to stop Israel from using weapons to create extra deaths.
Meeks has longstanding ties to the pro-Israel neighborhood. In 2020, when he was one among three Democrats on the committee in search of its chairmanship, he met with pro-Israel teams to get what was then their vital endorsement.
The U.S.-Israel relationship has soured lately, particularly over Israel’s conduct of the Gaza struggle, and extra just lately Meeks has criticized the nation’s management.
In February, Meeks slammed the selections of Netanyahu and his Safety Cupboard to increase Israel’s management over the West Financial institution.
“These actions intentionally and doubtlessly irreversibly erode the potential for a negotiated two-state answer” he stated in an announcement, referring to the Israel-Palestinian battle.
Whereas particular person congressional committee members don’t have unilateral energy to stop an arms sale, they can place a “maintain” on a transaction so as to purchase extra data.
“The Trump administration has not supplied ample assurances that these weapons might be utilized by the Netanyahu authorities in accordance with U.S. legislation and with acceptable protections for civilians,” Meeks stated on Wednesday.
This resolution, he defined, doesn’t weaken Congressional backing “for Israel’s authentic protection wants.”
“It displays Congress’s duty to make sure that U.S.-funded weapons are used lawfully, responsibly, and with significant safeguards for human life,” Meeks added.
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