Dozens of US NGOs urge Biden, Congress to impose arms embargo on Israel

“We the undersigned human rights, civil rights, and social justice organizations call on you to implement an immediate arms embargo on Israel in order to save lives,” a statement released by the US organizations read.

It added, “This week, US Congress welcomed Israeli prime minister Netanyahu, even as he and his administration face international investigations for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. This joint address was a direct affront to the values of human rights, freedom, and democracy.”

The organizations noted that Netanyahu’s far-right cabinet has utilized US support and weapons to kill nearly 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza, including 16,000 children, wiping out entire generations of Palestinian families in Gaza.

They further argued that Israeli forces have not only destroyed hospitals, bakeries, schools, churches, mosques, universities, refugee camps, and homes, but Gaza’s entire health care system and entire residential neighborhoods.

“The Israeli siege is starving Palestinian children and has brought Gaza to the brink of a full-blown famine. To save lives, we must stop sending bombs and warplanes to the Israeli military,” the NGOs pointed out.

The non-governmental organizations went on to state that the Israeli regime has shown clearly that it does not respond to warnings or stern words, urging Washington to exert tangible and material pressure on Israel now.

“The United Nations and legacy human rights groups like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International are all calling for countries to enact an arms embargo to stop these atrocities. An arms embargo is essential to uphold not only international law, but our own US law, and to send a clear message that the United States will not support the Israeli policies of collective punishment against the Palestinian people,” the statement added.

The organizations highlighted that amid mounting cost of living and inflation in the US, priority must be given to housing, healthcare, childcare, schools, and jobs — not weapons and bombs for Netanyahu’s war crimes.

“Pouring billions in weapons funding for an administration committing human rights abuses is a betrayal of our own communities’ needs. It’s time to redirect our resources towards building a better future at home, instead of supporting violence abroad,” they stressed.

The NGOs stated that the only way to reach a desperately needed lasting ceasefire in Gaza is for the US to exert pressure on Netanyahu’s cabinet by ending the flow of weapons to the Tel Aviv regime.

“We cannot claim to be working towards peace while simultaneously sending the weapons that enable atrocities.”

“Therefore, we call on you to immediately halt the sale, transfer, and shipment of all further weapons to Israel. This is the first step towards building a future in which all people living on the land can live in safety, equality, freedom, and justice,” the organizations said.

Israel launched the war on Gaza on October 7, 2023 after Hamas-led resistance groups waged the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying entity in response to the Israeli regime’s decades-long campaign of bloodletting and devastation against Palestinians.

However, more than nine months into the offensive, the Tel Aviv regime has failed to achieve its objectives in Gaza despite killing at least 39,250 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring over 90,500 others. Thousands more are also missing and presumed dead under rubble.

The US remains Israel’s most important ally and biggest supplier of arms. It has provided Israel with weapons and intelligence support during the Gaza war, and blocked UN resolutions calling for a humanitarian ceasefire in the besieged Palestinian territory.