US senate rejects ban on arms sales to Israel despite growing Democratic dissent

The US Senate on Wednesday rejected a resolution that would have banned US arms sales to Israel.

The decision revealed new divisions among Democrats and highlighted growing frustration with the country’s stance on Gaza.

The first of two votes was introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders and was rejected by a vote of 70 to 27.

This vote was a renewed effort to halt US arms transfers to protest Israel’s military operation in Gaza and the deepening humanitarian crisis.

Democrats were divided in the vote, with 12 senators who had previously supported arms sales to Israel switching their position.

“This resolution is absolutely necessary because if we do not oppose this, the US will have no credibility in the eyes of the international community,” said independent Senator Sanders.The US Senate rejected a resolution to ban arms sales to Israel, despite growing opposition from Democrats critical of the war in Gaza.

This marked the third time since late 2024 that Sanders has forced a Senate vote to halt arms sales to Israel.

Among Sanders’ new supporters was independent Senator Angus King of Maine. King said this week that he would no longer support the Netanyahu government because Israel is using starvation as a weapon of war.

“Enough is enough. I kept hoping that Israel would wake up, realize how terrible what they are doing is, and at least open up humanitarian aid. But they have not continued to do so, and I have reached the point where I say enough is enough,” King said in an interview.

New supporters since April include Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; Senator Jack Reed, the top member of the Senate Armed Services Committee; Senators Patty Murray and Tammy Baldwin, members of the Senate Appropriations Committee; and Senators Lisa Blunt Rochester, Martin Heinrich, Jon Ossoff, Tammy Duckworth, Raphael Warnock, Angela Alsobrooks, and Sheldon Whitehouse.

In April, the Senate had rejected two resolutions from Sanders aimed at blocking billions of dollars in arms sales to Israel.

At that time, the resolution, which came after the collapse of the ceasefire in Gaza, was supported by only 15 senators, a decrease from the 19 senators who had supported a similar resolution the previous November.

One of Wednesday’s resolutions would have blocked the sale of 5,000 heavy bombs and 5,000 bomb guidance kits for $676 million. The other would have banned the sale of tens of thousands of fully automatic assault rifles.

Sanders argued that the arms transfers would “clearly violate” US legal requirements regarding arms sales to foreign countries because Israel is using weapons provided by Washington to kill thousands of Palestinian civilians.

Republican Jim Risch, the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, defended the sales, arguing that it is Hamas, not Israel, that is prolonging the war.

“These are misguided resolutions, and if passed… would mean abandoning America’s closest ally in the Middle East,” Risch said in a speech on the Senate floor.