Lee, Pocan, McGovern, Schakowsky Urge Biden, Blinken to Withhold Weapons Transfers After Humanitarian Aid Workers Killed
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representatives Barbara Lee (CA-12), Mark Pocan (WI-02), Jim McGovern (MA-02), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09) and 36 of their colleagues sent a letter to President Biden and Secretary of State Blinken asking them to withhold pending offensive weapons transfers to Israel after seven humanitarian aid workers from World Central Kitchen, including one American, were killed in an Israeli airstrike, and to place conditions on future weapons assistance.
“We write to express our shared concern and outrage regarding the recent Israeli airstrike which killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers, including an American citizen,” the Members wrote. “In light of this incident, we strongly urge you to reconsider your recent decision to authorize the transfer of a new arms package to Israel and to withhold this and any future offensive arms transfers until a full investigation into the airstrike is completed. If this strike is found to have violated U.S. or international law, we urge you to continue withholding these transfers until those responsible are held accountable. We also urge you to withhold these transfers if Israel fails to sufficiently mitigate harm to innocent civilians in Gaza, including aid workers, and if it fails to facilitate – or arbitrarily denies or restricts – the transport and delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza.”
“It is estimated that over 32,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the start of this war, nearly half of whom are children,” the Members continued. “While we appreciate your administration’s recent efforts to increase the delivery of desperately needed humanitarian aid to Gaza, these efforts will not be sufficient to meet the extraordinary need on the ground. The Israeli government’s restrictions on the flow of aid into Gaza, coupled with the death and grave harm that aid workers have faced during this war, are compounding this hunger crisis. Recent reports indicate that hundreds of aid trucks sit idle outside the Rafah border crossing due to Israel’s restrictions. And now over 200 aid workers have been killed since the start of the war. These attacks and deaths are having a chilling effect with the World Central Kitchen and other humanitarian groups now suspending their operations in Gaza. Until now, World Central Kitchen has provided more than 43 million meals to Palestinians in Gaza, lending support to 68 community kitchens throughout the territory and serving more than 170,000 hot meals each day. Its services are irreplaceable, and its absence will fuel the growing hunger crisis in Gaza.”
“In light of the recent strike against aid workers and the ever-worsening humanitarian crisis, we believe it is unjustifiable to approve these weapons transfers,” the Members concluded. “We again strongly urge you to withhold any offensive weapons transfers until the investigation into the airstrike is concluded and, if it is found this strike violated U.S. or international law, those responsible are held accountable. And we again urge you to ensure that any future military assistance to Israel, including already authorized transfers, is subject to conditions to ensure it is used in compliance with U.S. and international law.”
Click here to see the full text of the letter.
The letter was signed by: Barbara Lee, Mark Pocan, James McGovern, Jan Schakowsky, Don Beyer, Earl Blumenauer, Jamaal Bowman, Cori Bush, André Carson, Greg Casar, Joaquin Castro, Judy Chu, Madeleine Dean, Mark DeSaulnier, Debbie Dingell, Lloyd Doggett, Veronica Escobar, John Garamendi, Jesús García, Sylvia Garcia, Al Green, Jahana Hayes, Jared Huffman, Sara Jacobs, Pramila Jayapal, Dan Kildee, Summer Lee, Betty McCollum, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Nancy Pelosi, Chellie Pingree, Ayanna Pressley, Delia Ramirez, Melanie Stansbury, Rashida Tlaib, Paul Tonko, Nydia Velázquez, Bonnie Watson Coleman