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Senators Call on Biden to ‘Use All Levers’ to Stop Israel Aid Blockade

Eight senators said Biden must force Israel to allow aid into Gaza or risk losing U.S. military assistance.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) led a group of eight senators this week as they sent a letter to President Joe Biden asking him to use federal law to stop Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from denying aid to desperate Palestinian civilians in Gaza. In the letter, the senators claimed that Israel’s blockade of U.S. aid to Gaza constituted a violation of the Foreign Assistance Act, which forbids the U.S. from arming any country that prevents U.S. aid from reaching its destination. Israel must therefore stop its blockade or risk losing U.S. military assistance. “We need the president and the Biden administration to push harder and to use all the levers of US policy to ensure people don’t die of starvation,” Van Hollen said Friday. The action comes as the Senate grows increasingly bold in its criticism of Netanyahu; on Tuesday, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called for new elections in Israel to replace Netanyahu.