Congresswoan . Chellie Pingree (D) and Colleagues Write to Presideht Biden & Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Stop Transfers of Weapaons to Israel for Now.
The Other BIG News of the Day is the Eclipse: The 7-Eleven Store on Washington Avenue on the East End of Portand Fielded Over 100 Telephone Calls Looking For a Pair of Glasses With Which to Watch the Eclipse. That was Between 8:00 am – 3:00 pm Today.
A letter to President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken asking them to withhold pending offensive weapons transfers to Israel was sent yesterday according to Congresswoman Chelllie Pingree (D-First District) in a press release issued this morning by her office. The letter, also signed by forty of her Colleagues, follows the killing of seven humanatarian aid workers from World Central Kitchen, including one American, by an Israeli airstrike. The letter also asked them to place conditions on future weapons assistance.
“We write to express our shared concern and outrage regarding the recent Israeli airstrike which killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers, including an American citizen,” the members of the US Congress coalition wrote in their April 5th, 2024 letter. “In light of this incident, we strongly urge you to reconsider your recent decision to authorize the transfer of a new arms package to Israel and to withhold this and any future offensive arms transfers until a full investigation into the airstrike is completed. If this strike is found to have violated US or international law, we urge you to continue withholding these transfers until those responsible are held accountable. We also urge you to withhold these transfers if Israel fails to sufficiently mitigate harm to innocent citizens in Gaza, including aid workers and if it fails to facilitate – or arbitarily denies or restrcits the transport and delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza.”
“It is estimated that over 32,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war, nearly half of whom are children,” the Members continued. “While we appreciate this administration’s recent efforts to increase the delivery of desparately needed humanitarian aid to Gaza, these efforts will not be sufficient to meet the extraordinary need on the ground. The Israeli government’s restrictions on the flow of aid into Gaza, coupled with the death and grave harm that aid workers have faced during this war, are compounding this hunger crisis. Recent reports indicate that hundreds of aid trucks sit idle outside the Rafah border crossing due to Israel’s restrictions. And now over 200 aid workers have been killed since the start of the war. These attacks and deaths are having a chiling effect with the World Central Kitchen and other humanitarian groups now suspending their operations in Gaza. Until now, World Central Kitchen has provided more than 43 million meals to Palestanians in Gaza, lending support to 68 community kitchens throughout the territory and serving more than 170,000 hot meals each day. Its services are irreplaceable and its absence will fuel the growing hunger crisis in Gaza.”
“In light of the recent strike against aid workers and the ever-worsening humanitarian crisis, we believe it is unjustifiable to approve these weapons transfers, the Members concluded.” “We again srongly urge you to withhold any offensive weapons transfers until the investigation into the airstrike is concluded and, if it is found this strike violated US or international law, those responsible are held accountable. And we again urge you to ensure that any future military assistance to Israel, including already authorized transfers, be subject to conditions that ensure it is used in complianace with US and international laws.”