Democrats send a message to Biden regarding military aid to Israel

A coalition of dozens of liberal organizations and labor unions sent a letter to the White House, Thursday evening, demanding that US President Joe Biden halt military aid to Israel until its government lifts restrictions imposed on humanitarian access to Gaza, according to the New York Times, which described the move as… The latest sign of a shift in mainstream Democratic opinion on the Gaza war.

According to the newspaper, the letter was signed by a number of progressive groups such as MoveOn and the Working Families Party, as well as the Center for American Progress think tank and NextGen America, the organization founded and funded by Tom Steyer, the billionaire who ran for president in the 2020 Democratic primaries. Other signatories to the letter include the union The Service Employees International and the National Education Association, labor unions that are major components of the Democratic Party.

The signatories to the letter published by the newspaper urge Biden to implement the Foreign Aid Law, which prevents military support from going to any country that restricts the delivery of humanitarian aid.

“This will send a clear message that the Netanyahu government is not above the law and that the United States will not stand idly by while war claims innocent Palestinian lives and continues to drive escalation throughout the region,” the letter said, referring to the Israeli prime minister.

The letter added, “We demand the implementation of the law, which is clear and unambiguous, and stipulates that countries that obstruct American humanitarian aid cannot receive military assistance from the United States under the Foreign Assistance Act or the Arms Export Control Act.”

The Democratic Coalition’s call coincides with the announcement by more than 250 humanitarian and human rights organizations, on Thursday, that they have added their voice to an open letter calling for an “immediate” halt to all arms transfers “to Israel and armed Palestinian groups,” according to Agence France-Presse.

The organizations said, “We call for an immediate ceasefire and call on all countries to stop transferring weapons that could be used to commit violations of international humanitarian law and human rights.”

“The UN Security Council must fulfill its responsibility to maintain global peace and security by adopting measures to stop the transfer of arms to the Government of Israel and Palestinian armed groups,” the open letter said.

16 organizations launched this open letter in January 2024, and it now bears more than 250 signatures, including the signatures of Amnesty International, Save the Children, Oxfam, Doctors of the World, Caritas International, and a number of non-governmental organizations.

The UN Security Council said on Thursday that it took note of Israel’s pledge to open additional outlets for humanitarian aid to enter Gaza, calling on it to do “more” in light of the catastrophic conditions in the besieged Palestinian Strip.

The Israeli authorities reported that 468 trucks entered the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, the highest number in one day since the start of the war, a day after 419 trucks entered, according to Reuters.

On Monday, the United Nations announced that 223 trucks had entered that day, according to Agence France-Presse.

An official at the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Jens Laerke, confirmed Tuesday from Geneva that the trucks entering Gaza are “half full,” a “condition” imposed by Israel to facilitate inspections.

Several countries also drop aid from the air, but these operations are subject to criticism from Gaza residents and non-governmental organizations as well.

In a phone call last week with Netanyahu, Biden threatened to link American support for the Israeli offensive in Gaza to taking concrete steps to protect aid workers and civilians, according to Reuters.

This was the first time that Biden, a Democrat and staunch supporter of Israel, sought to exploit US aid to influence Israeli military behavior.