Concerned by the human rights crisis facing Palestinians in Gaza, the US Senate defeated legislation that would have stopped the supply of some US weaponry to Israel.
A motion that would have prohibited the supply of tank rounds to Israel was rejected by 79 senators out of 100, while 18 supported it and one voted in favor of it, according to Reuters.
Two further measures to halt the supply of two other kinds of offensive military equipment were scheduled for Senate voting later.
Democrats cast all of the votes in favor of the measure, while Republicans and Democrats both cast “no” votes. The approval would have been a significant shift from decades of legislative backing for Israel, the largest beneficiary of US military aid for many years.
Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, filed the “resolutions of disapproval,” which were co-sponsored by a few Democrats.
The goal of forcing a vote was to persuade President Joe Biden’s administration and Israel’s government to take further action to safeguard people in Gaza.
