Rep. Stansbury Signs Letter Urging Biden and Blinken to Withhold Military Aid to Israel

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Representative Melanie Stansbury (D-NM) issued the following statement after signing a letter written by Representatives Mark Pocan (D-WI), Jim McGovern (D-MA), and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), also signed by Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), urging President Biden and Secretary Blinken to withhold offensive military aid to Israel if U.S. or international law was broken during the airstrikes that killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers: 

"Three days ago, seven World Central Kitchen aid workers were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza, bringing the death count of aid workers to over 280 since October 7. This heartbreaking news is only the latest in civilian casualties caused by military operations in Gaza.

"Today, I signed a letter with 39 of my colleagues urging President Biden and Secretary Blinken to withhold offensive military aid until a full and independent investigation of the airstrike that killed the World Central Kitchen aid workers is complete. 

"The letter also urges continuing to withhold offensive aid if military operations continue to harm innocent civilians and effectively deny humanitarian aid to Gaza. The use of military operations to deny access to food, water, and medicine to Palestinians represents a grave abuse of power by Prime Minister Netanyahu.

"Since the brutal attack by Hamas on October 7, over 32,000 people in Gaza have been killed in addition to the more than 1,400 killed and kidnapped in Israel. The violence must stop and innocent lives must be protected."

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