Santa Barbara Congressmember Salud Carbajal joined with 85 other members of Congress to urge President Joe Biden to put Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on notice that future military assistance to Israel could be placed in jeopardy if Israel continues to interfere with the delivery of humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza.
“These restrictions on U.S.-backed humanitarian aid efforts have contributed to an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe for Palestinian civilians and to credible reports of famine in parts of Gaza, according to USAID Ambassador Samantha Power,” wrote Carbajal in the joint statement.
The letter urged President Biden to make such concerns plain to Netanyahu, who to date has all but openly dismissed them. In fact, Netanyahu has vowed to push ahead with a major ground campaign that will put more than one million Palestinians living in Northern Gaza at greater risk, whether or not a cease-fire is negotiated between Israel and Hamas.