Washington DC - Senator Chris Van Hollen has backed a congressional effort to block the transfer of certain offensive weapons to Israel amid the ongoing genocide in Palestine.

"U.S. taxpayer-funded assistance should not come in the form of a blank check – even to our closest partners. We need assurances that U.S. interests, values, and priorities will be respected by foreign governments that receive American support. That principle should apply universally, including to the Netanyahu government," Van Hollen said in a statement on Monday.

"But even as the United States has provided billions of dollars of American taxpayer-financed bombs and other offensive weapons systems, we’ve seen Prime Minister Netanyahu repeatedly violate the terms of American security assistance, disregard U.S. priorities, and ignore our requests, only to be rewarded by President Biden," the Maryland Democrat continued.

"That pattern undermines the credibility of the United States and should not persist."

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The joint resolutions of disapproval, led by independent Senator Bernie Sanders, are expected to go for a vote in Congress' upper chamber this week. They aim to block the transfer of certain military equipment to Israel worth around $20 billion, including joint direct attack munitions and tank and artillery shells.

Domestic law prohibits arms sales to countries that are carrying out gross human rights violations and restricting American humanitarian assistance. There is ample evidence Israel is doing both.

The expected vote on the joint resolutions of disapproval comes amid rising public outrage over Israel's daily atrocities across the Middle East.

So far, only six out of 100 senators have backed at least one of the measures. In addition to Van Hollen, they include:

• Bernie Sanders (Independent-Vermont)
• Jeff Merkley (Democrat-Oregon)
• Peter Welch (Democrat-Vermont)
• Brian Schatz (Democrat-Hawaii)
• Elizabeth Warren (Democrat-Massachusetts)

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Israel has slaughtered at least 43,922 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023, according to the local health ministry. The British medical journal Lancet and other experts believe the true number to be far greater, upwards of 186,000 as of July 2024.

The apartheid regime has killed more than 3,510 people in Lebanon in that same period.

The US has enabled the genocide in Palestine and assault on Lebanon by providing Israel with diplomatic cover and billions of dollars in military assistance. Growing calls for a permanent ceasefire and an arms embargo have so far gone unanswered by Congress and the White House.

In a letter to his colleagues, Van Hollen clarified his stance on the matter: "I do not support an arms embargo on Israel, but I do believe that the United States should pause the delivery of offensive weapons until the Netanyahu government meets the requirements of U.S. law and policy with respect to delivery of humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza, and the use of American weapons there."

"This will be our one opportunity to send that message and I urge you to back these efforts as well," he added.