US, foreign attorneys call on Biden to halt arms sales to Israel: Report
A group of lawyers from the US and abroad have signed on to a legal letter that calls on President Joe Biden to halt military aid to Israel until the regime stops its hostilities in the Gaza Strip.
The coalition, including at least 20 that work in the Biden administration, plans to send the letter arguing their case to Attorney General Merrick Garland and general counsels across the administration in the coming days, US online newspaper Politico reported.
So far, more than 90 lawyers have signed on, including from the departments of Justice, Labor and Energy, along with lawyers at the European Commission and in the private sector.
The letter, which is still circulating for signatures, cited polling showing most Biden supporters want an arms embargo.
“The law is clear and aligned with the majority of Americans who believe the US should cease arms shipments to Israel until it stops its military operation in Gaza.”
The lawyers argued that Israel likely violated US statutes that prohibit disproportionate attacks on civilian populations.
They also called for the Justice Department to investigate whether war crimes charges could be brought against US citizens serving in the Israeli military.
The letter comes just days after Biden signed into law legislation that authorized $15 billion in military assistance to Israel.
The president had spent months lobbying House Speaker Mike Johnson to move forward with the bill that was only passed last week, after months of delay.
The Biden administration now faces a May 8 deadline to certify to Congress that Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, involving US-supplied weapons, adheres to US or international law. “This is a moment where the US government is violating its own laws and policy,” said a Department of Justice staffer who signed the letter.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Politico that the Biden administration “may be seeing silence or only a handful of resignations, but they are really not aware of the magnitude of discontent and dissent among the rank and file.”
Biden has poured more than 10,000 tons of military hardware into Israel's war machine that has so far killed more than 34,500 Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip since early October.
As the the regime's airstrikes continue, Gaza’s health authorities say they can no longer count all their dead, since they lack the basic services required to extract bodies from the vast number of collapsed building.
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