'Wrong on every level': Biden administration accused of hypocrisy over Israel weapons transfer

US lawmakers accused the Biden administration of hypocrisy on Friday after it voiced concerns over civilian deaths in Gaza, while approving the transfer of billions of dollars' worth of bombs and fighter jets to Israel.

The transfer includes over 1,800 bombs weighing 2,000 pounds each, according to The Washington Post. Such munitions have been associated with the increasing civilian death toll in Israel’s relentless and indiscriminate assault on the Gaza Strip.

In a post on social media site X, Senator Bernie Sanders labelled Biden’s move “obscene”, stating: “The US cannot beg Netanyahu to stop bombing civilians one day and the next send him thousands more 2,000 lb. bombs that can level entire city blocks. This is obscene. We must end our complicity: No more bombs to Israel.”

The U.S. cannot beg Netanyahu to stop bombing civilians one day and the next send him thousands more 2,000 lb. bombs that can level entire city blocks.

This is obscene.

We must end our complicity: No more bombs to Israel.https://t.co/BqV0NkMtKa

— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) March 29, 2024

Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon, a Democrat, shared Sanders' sentiment, writing on X: “The Biden administration can’t credibly push to increase humanitarian access to Gaza while simultaneously sending the same weapons that the Netanyahu government is using to indiscriminately kill innocent Palestinians.”

“Wrong on every level,” he added.

The transfer's announcement coincided with President Biden acknowledging "the pain experienced by many in the Arab American community due to the war in Gaza."

This comes amid disagreement between the United States and Israel regarding Netanyahu's intentions to begin a military assault on Rafah, a city in the south of the Gaza that has become a sanctuary for approximately 1.5 million desperate Palestinians fleeing Israel's assault.

However, the kind of weapons included in this most recent transfer of weapons from Washington to Tel Aviv equip the Israeli military with precisely what is needed for a ground invasion of Rafah.

Last Monday, in what appeared to be the first sign of a break in the US policy of unconditional support for Israel, Washington refused to veto a UN Security Council resolution demanding an end to hostilities in Gaza for the remainder of Ramadan.

The binding resolution also demands that the Ramadan ceasefire serves as the basis for a lasting peace, but, so far, Israel and the US have shown no signs of sticking to the UN ruling.

This arms transfer has led to accusations that the Biden administration is attempting to pay lip service to peace in Gaza to appease Arab American voters in the run up to November’s presidential election, while continuing to ensure Israel can wage war.

Israel’s indiscriminate attack on Gaza has so far killed 32,705 people, most of them women and children.