In a letter sent to U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday, nearly 60 Senate Democrats expressed their “outrage” over the reported civilian casualties in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Gaza and called for greater oversight by the Biden administration.
The letter underscored the lack of the U.S. administration’s response thus far in the face of “unacceptable” civilian deaths during the months-long conflict, citing both the United Nations Human Rights Council report on potential violations of international laws and evidence from doctors and NGOs on the ground.
The letter, co-authored by Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin and Senator Bob Menendez, the Democratic Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, stressed the need for the U.S. to “condemn and investigate potential violations” of the laws of war and offered a range of diplomatic tools that the U.S. can draw on in its role as a major key international player in the resolution of the conflict.
These tools, the letter said, include condemning perpetrator states, revoking any financial support for offensive operations, taking action for any violations found, and implementing an arms embargo or other political and economic sanctions.
They also urged Biden to communicate to the Israeli government the importance of pursuing diplomacy, rather than relying solely upon military force.
The senators also called for increased funding to support Palestinian communities in Gaza and for the U.S. to use its powers as co-chair of the international donor’s group to press for continued humanitarian relief for Palestinians.
This call from the senators comes amid escalating violence and continued humanitarian destruction in the region, which has worsened in recent weeks. The conflict between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants has seen more than 200 people killed in the Gaza Strip, with a high percentage of those deaths being civilian non-combatants.
The call for increased U.S. oversight is a sign of the growing solidarity amongst the Democratic Party in the wake of the conflict. By invoking both U.S. values of justice and international humanitarian law, the Senators’ letter puts pressure on Biden to hold both sides to the conflict to account.