US Complicity in Gaza Deepens as Only 15 Senators Vote to Block Weapons to Israel | Palestine Policy Roundup 04.07.25
Welcome to the Palestine Policy Roundup, a weekly publication of the IMEU Policy Project.
👀 ICYMI: MEMBERS OF CONGRESS SPEAK OUT
Sen. Bernie Sanders on JRDs to block weapons to Israel: “Today is the day to stand up to barbarism in Gaza and to do our best to prevent future barbaric acts all over the world. It is no secret to anyone how these U.S. weapons have been used. Israel has bombed indiscriminately, killing civilians, journalists, paramedics, children, and humanitarian workers in record numbers…the United States must not continue to be complicit in the destruction of the Palestinian people in Gaza.”
Sen. Peter Welch: “We had a ceasefire that is now over, and the violence is continuing. The Trump Administration wants to send arms, including 2,000-pound bombs, to the Netanyahu government. I opposed these offensive weapons sales to Israel during the Biden Administration. I will oppose these offensive weapons sales to the Israeli government during the Trump Administration. I will join Senator Sanders in voting to block the sale of these offensive weapons to Israel.”
Rep. Pramila Jayapal: “Providing the Israeli govt with offensive weapons as they violate both int'l & U.S. laws is unacceptable and makes us complicit in the violence & destruction in Gaza. That’s why I introduced legislation to block specific offensive weapons sales to Israel.”
Rep. Rashida Tlaib on Israel's killing of Palestinian aid workers: “They were killed by Israeli forces while trying to save lives. As long as our leaders continue to close their eyes and vote for more weapons, these war crimes will continue. Arms embargo now.”
DC DEVELOPMENTS
💣 15 SENATORS VOTE TO BLOCK WEAPONS TO ISRAEL AS MORE JRDs INTRODUCED IN HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Only 15 Senators voted to block weapons to Israel after Senator Bernie Sanders forced votes on two joint resolutions of disapproval (JRDs) last Thursday. These JRDs, S.J.Res. 33 and S.J.Res.26, sought to block the delivery to Israel of weapons including 2,000-pound bombs, Joint Direct Attack Munition guidance kits, 500-pound bombs, and small diameter bombs–which have all been used by the Israeli military in apparent war crimes.
These weapons, which were valued at $8.8 billion, were part of two weapons giveaways to Israel that in total amounted to more than $12 billion and presumably will be funded by American taxpayers–even as President Trump’s tariffs threaten to increase prices and lead to a recession.
By sending these weapons to Israel, President Trump is giving Israel the green light to contine its genocide in Gaza. After Israel broke the ceasefire four weeks ago, the Israeli military has killed more than 1,000 Palestinians–likely using US-supplied weapons such as those provided in this weapons giveaway.
These weapons deliveries also give Israel a green light to implement its longstanding plans for the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from Gaza. Since Israel resumed its genocidal violence in Gaza, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has threatened to annex parts of Gaza and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised to implement President Trump’s ethnic cleansing plan.
The Senate’s failure to block these weapons deliveries to Israel puts it out of step with the will of the American people, especially Democrats. A June 2024 CBS News poll found that 61% of Americans, including 77% of Democrats, support halting weapons transfers to Israel. A January 2025 poll published by IMEU Policy Project and YouGov found that 55% of Harris 2024 voters in swing states indicated they would be more likely to support a candidate who voted to withhold weapons to Israel while only 13% of voters would be more likely to support a candidate who voted against withholding weapons to Israel..
While the Senate did not block these weapons, in the House of Representatives, Rep. Pramila Jayapal and Rep. Rashida Tlaib led a group of up to 15 original cosponsors in introducing new JRDs which seek to block weapons to Israel that were included in the Trump administration’s announcement at the end of February.
These JRDs specifically target the delivery of 2,000-pound bombs, 1,000-pound bombs, JDAMs, and Caterpillar D9 bulldozers. More Representatives have since cosponsored the JRD on 2,000-pound bombs.
Last month, Reps. Tlaib and Jayapal were joined by a dozen Representatives in introducing JRDs to block most of the Trump administration’s latest weapons shipments to Israel (H.J.Res.68, H.J.Res.69, H.J.Res.70, and H.J.Res.71). The JRDs seek to block the delivery of Small Diameter Bombs, 500-pound bombs, Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) guidance kits, Hellfire Missiles, and 155mm High Explosive artillery shells.
❌ MIKE HUCKABEE NOMINATION ADVANCED BY SENATE FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE
Last Wednesday, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted to advance the nomination of Mike Huckabee, President Trump’s anti-Palestinian nominee to be the US Ambassador to Israel. His nomination will now go to the full Senate for a final confirmation vote.
During his confirmation hearing before the committee last month, Huckabee refused to answer questions about his extremist anti-Palestinian racism. When asked about his record of support for Israeli annexation of the West Bank, he also refused to clarify whether he stood by his well-documented position.
Huckabee has a decades-long record of anti-Palestinian racism and a clear commitment to supporting Israel’s ethnic cleansing agenda in both Gaza and in the West Bank. In 2008, Huckabee denied the existence of Palestinians; in a 2015 interview he endorsed the same ideas as contained in Trump’s illegal plan to ethnically cleanse Palestinians from their land; and in 2018 he laid bricks for an illegal Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank and indicated that he wanted to be a settler himself.
Mike Huckabee’s radical and deeply prejudiced views on Palestinians make him unfit to serve as US Ambassador to Israel. When his nomination comes for a vote, Senators will have the opportunity to take a stand for freedom, human rights, and a future that values justice and peace over oppression.
💡 POLICY ASK: Senators should vote NO on Huckabee’s nomination when it comes to the floor for a vote.
📖 LEARN MORE: Check out the Huck No campaign website to learn more about Huckabee’s extremist views and why he is unfit for the role of ambassador.
IN THE NEWS
⚖️ CASES OF MAHMOUD KHALIL, RUMEYSA ÖZTÜRK MOVED FROM LOUISIANA IN IMPORTANT LEGAL VICTORIES
Last week, lawyers for Mahmoud Khalil and Rumeysa Öztürk challenging their unconstitutional detentions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) notched important legal victories after judges decided that both cases will be heard in New Jersey and in Vermont, respectively. Both Khalil and Öztürk were targeted as part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on political speech and activism in support of Palestinian rights.
ICE abducted both Khalil and Öztürk and moved them more than 1,000 miles away to detention facilities in Louisiana, presumably to evade legal scrutiny of their detentions and to manipulate federal court jurisdiction to venues more supportive of the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda.
Öztürk’s lawyers accused ICE of purposely keeping them in the dark about her whereabouts after she was abducted off the street in Sommerville, Massachusetts. Öztürk’s lawyers also reported that she has not received her required asthma medications and suffered three asthma attacks while in DHS custody.
While these legal victories are critical, the cases of Khalil, Öztürk, and many other students detained by ICE are far from over. Students from more than two dozen colleges and universities have had their visas revoked by the Trump administration and many of them have self-deported or have been detained by ICE.
While it is not immediately clear how many of these students are being targeted because of their support for Palestinian rights, the State Department’s reported use of an AI tool to scan students’ social media posts as part of its “Catch and Revoke” effort make it likelier that many of these students are being detained because of their political speech. Additionally, far-right groups that have the explicit aim of punishing students for their support for Palestinian rights have reportedly submitted the names of students to the Trump administration for deportation.
PALESTINE/ISRAEL DEVELOPMENTS
⛑️ UN: ISRAELI MILITARY EXECUTED PARAMEDICS AND RESCUE WORKERS, BURIED THEM IN MASS GRAVE
Last week, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs announced that 15 paramedics and rescue workers who were working in Rafah were shot by the Israeli military one by one and buried in a mass grave. At least one worker was found with his hands bound, indicating that he was detained before he was killed.
A forensic doctor who analysed some of the bodies found at the mass grave indicated that Israeli soldiers executed the workers, telling The Guardian: “All cases had been shot with multiple bullets, except for one..the bullets were aimed at one person’s head, another at their heart, and a third person had been shot with six or seven bullets in the torso.”
The workers were missing for more than a week and were only found last Monday. In a statement, the head of the UN OCHA in Palestine Jonathan Whittall described the scene of their mass grave: “We’re digging them out in their uniforms, with their gloves on. They were here to save lives. Instead, they ended up in a mass grave. These ambulances have been buried in the sand. There’s a UN vehicle here, buried in the sand.”
On March 23, the group reportedly came under heavy Israeli fire as it was attempting to rescue another group of their colleagues who were shot at by the Israeli military earlier in the day. The group included paramedics from the Palestine Red Crescent Society, Palestinian Civil Defense workers, and at least one UN worker. Israeli soldiers fired on their convoy of vehicles as they traveled through the Tel al-Sultan neighborhood.
Munther Abed, the only known paramedic to survive the attack, reported that the vehicle he was in was flashing its siren and had its lights on, and that Israeli soldiers deliberately fired at their vehicle. He also reported that Israeli soldiers repeatedly beat him, pushed his face into sand, and took him away from the vehicle presumably to limit what he saw of the incident.
On Saturday, footage captured by Rifat Radwan–one of the paramedics who was killed by Israeli soldiers–corroborated Abed’s claim that the vehicles had their lights flashing before they were attacked. This video and Abed’s eyewitness account directly contradict claims made by the Israeli military in the aftermath of the discovery of the mass grave.
Since October 2023, Israel has killed more than 400 aid workers in Gaza. The targeting and deliberate killing of medics and humanitarian workers who are carrying out their duties constitute war crimes. Amnesty International has called for an independent investigation into this incident.
🚨 US-MADE BOMB IDENTIFIED AT ISRAELI STRIKE ON CLINIC AS ISRAEL KILLS COUNTLESS PALESTINIANS
Last Wednesday, an Israeli airstrike on a clinic run by UNRWA in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza killed at least 22 Palestinians, including 9 children. Among those killed in the strike was Amal, a Palestinian infant who was beheaded by the Israeli strike, according to her mother. A video taken in the aftermath of the strike seems to confirm this atrocity.
Like many cases before, this clinic was being used as a shelter for Palestinians displaced by Israeli orders. This follows Israel’s trend of targeting shelters to which displaced Palestinians are forced to go; Palestinian authorities in Gaza report that Israel has struck shelters 228 times during the ongoing genocide.
In the aftermath of the strike, weapons expert Trevor Ball identified a fragment of a US-made GBU-39 small diameter bomb–the same type of weapon that Sen. Bernie Sanders’ JRDs last week attempted to block the delivery of to Israel. This is yet further evidence that US weapons are being used by Israel to commit possible war crimes across Gaza and that US complicity in the genocide is deepening.
Since Israel broke the ceasefire with the support of the Trump administration on March 18, it has killed more than 1,000 Palestinians, including at least 400 on that one night. According to the UN, more than 100 Palestinian children have been injured or killed by Israel every day since it resumed its genocidal violence in Gaza. Israel has killed more than 17,000 children since the beginning of the genocide in October 2023.
⚠️ ISRAEL PREPARES FOR ETHNIC CLEANSING AS PALESTINIANS FORCIBLY DISPLACED FROM RAFAH, NORTHERN GAZA
Last week Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the Israeli military intends to further divide Gaza by occupying and creating a new corridor known as the Morag Corridor, promising that the Israeli military will occupy Palestinian land there. This name reportedly refers to an area between Rafah and Khan Younis in the southern part of Gaza, and would be established in addition to other Israeli-occupied corridors, namely the Philadelphi and Netzarim Corridors, which are used to control the movement of Palestinians and obstruct aid.
These comments came the same day as Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz doubled down on his threats to annex and occupy Palestinian land in Gaza while announcing a major expansion of Israel’s invasion of the area.
As Katz and Netanyahu made these announcements, the Israeli military continued its invasion of Rafah–which had started earlier in the week–and began an invasion of northern Gaza, including parts of Gaza City. Both of these invasions came with sweeping displacement orders that forced nearly 300,000 Palestinians from their homes.
Last Monday, the Israeli military displaced Palestinians in Rafah to the so-called safe zone in Al-Mawasi. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, these displacement orders have resulted in approximately two-thirds of Gaza becoming “no-go” zones, leaving displaced Palestinians with few places to go.
The Israeli military’s invasion of Rafah has devastated the city, with nearly all homes, water wells, and sewage infrastructure destroyed by Israeli attacks, according to Palestinian authorities in Gaza. The authorities described Rafah as uninhabitable and reported that the Morag Corridor has completely cut Rafah off from the rest of Gaza.
Last Sunday, before these latest displacements of Palestinians and invasions in Gaza began, Netanyhu once again agreed explicitly with President Trump’s plan to ethnically cleanse Palestinians from Gaza in remarks before the Israeli cabinet. These comments and others make it increasingly clear that Israel’s invasions and displacement of Palestinians in Gaza are meant to serve the purpose of the crime of forcible transfer.
Photo: Anelo, via Shutterstock. Stock Photo ID: 2449391509