US senator blocks $2.8 billion weapons sale to Israel

Senate Democrat blocks arms sale

Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has placed a hold on a $2.8 billion weapons sale to Israel, The Hill reported on Friday, citing frustration with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's refusal to address concerns over civilian deaths in Gaza, strikes in Syria, and West Bank violence.

Asked by CNN about the decision, Shaheen said: "All of us share concern about what Israel is doing … what they're doing in Gaza, their bombing in places like Syria, and what that means for any peaceful solution in the Middle East." She added: "Netanyahu needs to hear from America that we don't like what he's doing. We don't like what's happening in the West Bank where settler violence is killing Palestinians, sending them out of their homes, disrupting basic infrastructure. And the Netanyahu administration has basically done nothing to address that."

House lawmaker issues parallel hold

As the committee's ranking member, Shaheen can block major arms sales while the State Department addresses lawmakers' concerns. Semafor first reported in July that she imposed the hold. Representative Gregory Meeks, her counterpart in the House, announced Wednesday that he had also placed a hold on the sale, citing questions about whether Netanyahu's government would use US-supplied weapons in accordance with international humanitarian law.

The proposed weapons package includes 40,000 one-ton bombs, according to the report. The Biden administration had previously withheld similar munitions over concerns regarding their use in Gaza, where Palestinian health officials estimate approximately 70,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023.