More than 70 senators voted to repeal the resolution, when a simple majority would have been enough in the 100-seat Senate.
In the United States, the Senate has rejected a resolution that would have forced the State Department to prepare a report within 30 days on whether Israel has committed human rights violations in its military operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
72 senators voted in favor of canceling the resolution. In the 100-seat senate, 11 senators voted for the resolution.
The resolution was pushed by an independent senator from the state of Vermont Bernie Sanders. Although the resolution was repealed, it reflected a growing concern, especially among the Democratic left, about the supply of arms to Israel.
– We must ensure that US aid is used in accordance with human rights and our own laws, Sanders said in his speech before the vote and urged the Senate to support the resolution.
In his speech, Sanders lamented that the Senate did not consider measures that would have looked at the impact of the war on civilians.
The White House opposed the resolution
On Monday, Sanders commented to the AP news agency that Israel has every right to defend itself against the attacks of the terrorist organization Hamas.
– However, Israel does not have the right to go to war against the entire Palestinian people using US armed assistance, Sanders said.
– In my opinion, this is exactly what is happening, he added.
The White House had announced its opposition to the resolution, which could have led to the imposition of conditions on arms aid to Israel.
– We don’t think that the resolution is the right kind of tool for dealing with these issues. We don’t think this is the right moment. It frankly doesn’t work, comments the spokesman for the National Security Council of the White House John Kirby.
If the resolution had passed the vote, the State Department would have had to submit a report to Congress within 30 days. After seeing the report, Congress could have considered a new resolution proposing changes to the provision of security assistance to Israel.
The US government has said on several occasions that it has pressured Israel to reduce the number of civilian casualties in the fighting in the Gaza Strip. However, Israel has said it will continue fighting until the terrorist organization Hamas is completely destroyed.
Sources: Reuters, AP