The $95 billion military and foreign aid package Congress passed was a remarkable feat of bipartisanship — and a calamity for decency and humanity.
That’s primarily because of the $15 billion in military aid to Israel. Unless President Biden’s State Department recognizes Israel’s egregious violations of humanitarian law and withholds that aid, those U.S. funds will directly help the Israeli military perpetuate its assault on the people of Gaza — in which the International Court of Justice four months ago ordered Israel to “prevent death, destruction and any acts of genocide.”
The Israeli military’s operations have caused more than 34,000 deaths in Gaza, most of them women and children. And it will get worse: Gaza is on the brink of famine, due in large part to the Israeli military’s blockading of humanitarian aid, despite the Biden administration’s repeated (and ineffective) demands to allow more aid.
U.S. weapons have played a key role in this devastation. The U.S. was already slated to send $3.8 billion to the Israeli military in 2024, which it’s given annually for years. The new $15 billion package multiplies that sum.