Until the Israeli government lifts its barriers to the entrance of full humanitarian aid into Gaza, the United States must immediately cease arms shipments to Israel.

Stopping the sending of arms to a fellow democracy, and one that provides a homeland for the Jewish people and suffered a brutal attack, requires good reasons. As I see it, there are five.

First, the prevention of humanitarian aid, like the bombing of Gaza, is not leading to the release of the hostages taken by Hamas. Hostage release is obtained by negotiation.

Second, the blocking of aid is leading to the deaths of hundreds of completely innocent people. The UN reports that widespread famine is imminent. The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 clearly states: “No assistance shall be furnished under this chapter or the Arms Export Control Act to any country when it is made known to the President that the government of such country prohibits or otherwise restricts, directly or indirectly, the transport or delivery of United States humanitarian assistance.” Calling a plan to build a temporary pier in Gaza a “glaring distraction,” Doctors Without Borders has said that “the U.S. should insist on immediate humanitarian access using existing roads and entry points.”

Third, our continued military aid to the current Israeli government is jeopardizing our own national security. It is leading Arabs who are sympathetic to the deaths of Palestinians to attack traffic through the Red Sea and American bases in the Middle East. The displacement of Palestinians will generate refugees that will destabilize the Egyptian government. It is diverting military resources that are needed elsewhere and adding to an already inflated federal military budget.

Fourth, the history of our relations with the Israeli government demonstrates that it will not comply with our requests as long as we give unconditional aid. In the early 1960s, the Kennedy administration, attempting to stop the spread of nuclear weapons, requested that the Israeli government not develop nuclear weapons. The Israeli government went ahead and secretly developed nuclear weapons. In the early 1990s, the U.S., with hopes for a two-state solution, asked the Israeli government to not develop settlements in the West Bank. The Israeli government assured the U.S. it would not approve settlements. By 1993, there were 250,000 settlers. Since then, the U.S. has continued to protest settlement. There are now nearly 700,000 settlers in nominally Palestinian territory. The current Israeli government will not permit sufficient humanitarian aid as long as the U.S. gives it military supplies.

Fifth, the Israeli government currently has the resources to maintain its shield against rockets and to maintain border security. At this point, sending additional money for weapons weakens the defense of Israel; it leads the government to continue the killing of innocents and to continue to avoid planning for the needed two-state solution.

Giving billions of dollars to the current government in Israel is not helping Jewish people to defend a homeland or obtain the release of hostages. It is enabling the blocking of humanitarian aid and wasting money on the support of an administration that is opposing a two-state solution, killing innocent civilians and creating conditions that are harmful to our own national security.

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