Bernie Sanders set for legislative fight against $735m US-Israel bomb deal

Bernie Sanders is set to bring forth a resolution to take on a $735 million US-Israel bomb deal, The Washington Post reported on Thursday.

The newspaper, which has seen a draft version of the legislation, said it seeks to prevent Joint Direct Attack Munitions and Small Diameter Bombs from being sold to Israel, which is currently engaged in a deadly offensive that has killed hundreds in the besieged Gaza Strip.

The daily said this relates to what it describes as a "planned sale… by the Biden administration".

A Joint Direct Attack Munition is used to transform "an unguided dumb bomb… into an accurate smart munition", according to an article on the US Air Force's website.

Senator Sanders told The Washington Post: “At a moment when U.S.-made bombs are devastating Gaza, and killing women and children, we cannot simply let another huge arms sale go through without even a congressional debate".

He said he wants the US to facilitate "a peaceful and prosperous future for both Israelis and Palestinians", and questioned how selling these arms would affect this goal.

Sanders' move follow attempts headed up by Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Wednesday to prevent US arms sales to Israel.

Democrat congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is leading efforts to block #US weapons sales to #Israel as it continues its deadly strikes on #Gaza, although the move seems unlikely to succeed.https://t.co/L9EJ1t4Vcb

— The New Arab (@The_NewArab) May 20, 2021

"At a time when so many, including President Biden, support a ceasefire, we should not be sending 'direct attack' weaponry to Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu to prolong this violence," The New York Congresswoman said.

With the bombing of Gaza in its eleventh day, the enclave has now witnessed 232 deaths, of which 65 have been children, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

Israel, meanwhile, has seen 12 fatalities, Haaretz reported.