US Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-WA). Photo by Bryan Olin Dozier/NurPhoto via Reuters Connect

A coalition of 13 progressive US lawmakers has submitted a joint resolution to halt current and future arms sales to Israel, citing what they described as excessive casualties incurred during the war in Gaza. 

House Joint Resolution 68 (HJ Res. 68), sponsored by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), was introduced to the House of Representatives on March 3. The legislation represents the latest attempt by lawmakers critical of Israel’s war effort against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in Gaza to prevent the Jewish state from receiving American arms. 

Several of the other lawmakers, all Democrats, who signed onto the bill — Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Gregorio Casar (D-TX), Hank Johnson (D-GA), Summer Lee (D-PA), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Marc Pocan (D-WI), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), Delia Ramirez (D-IL), Nydia Velazquez (D-NY), and Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) — possess an extensive history of lambasting Israel, falsely accusing the Jewish state of enacting a “genocide” in Gaza against Palestinians and maintaining “apartheid” in the West Bank. 

The legislation calls for the US government to ban the sale of high explosive projectiles and artillery shells to Israel. In addition, the bill would bar the US from providing Israel with technical and logistics support services.   

In the 17 months following the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel, Democratic lawmakers in Washington, DC have grown increasingly critical of the Jewish state. Democrats in Congress have oftentimes lambasted Israel for alleged indiscriminate bombing within Gaza, arguing such military tactics have resulted in excessive civilian deaths. 

In December, 17 Democratic senators voted to implement a partial arms embargo against Israel. One of the bills, SJ Res. 111, was spearheaded by prominent Israel critic Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT), and would have banned the sale of tank cartridges to Israel. The Senate ultimately rejected the measure by a margin of 79-18. In addition, Sanders presented two other anti-Israel resolutions SJ Res. 113 and SJ Res. 115, which targeted sales of mortar rounds and precision-guided bombs. The Senate declined to advance these bills by a similar margin. 

Israel says it has gone to unprecedented lengths to try and avoid civilian casualties in Hamas-ruled Gaza, noting its efforts to evacuate areas before it targets them and to warn residents of impending military operations with leaflets, text messages, and other forms of communication. However, Hamas has in many cases prevented people from leaving, according to the Israeli military.

Another challenge for Israel is Hamas’s widely recognized military strategy of embedding its terrorists within Gaza’s civilian population and commandeering civilian facilities like hospitals, schools, and mosques to run operations, direct attacks, and store weapons.