Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is leading a push to block the United States' $735 million weapons sale to Israel.
The Democratic politician believes it's immoral for her country to give close to three quarters of a billion dollars' worth of bombs to a nation that is engaging in war with Palestinian militants in Gaza.
She wrote on Twitter in response to the news: "The United States should not be rubber-stamping weapons sales to the Israeli government as they deploy our resources to target international media outlets, schools, hospitals, humanitarian missions and civilian sites for bombing.
Advert
"We have a responsibility to protect human rights."
Israel has been sending a barrage of airstrikes into Gaza over the last two weeks in retaliation to missile and rocket attacks from Gaza that have largely been thwarted.
They have bombed a building that used to house international media outlets, destroyed vital services and arterial roads to these services, as well as decimate neighbourhoods and livelihoods.
Advert
The United Nations says at least 58,000 Palestinians are now homeless as a result of the air and ground bombing campaign from Israel, in addition to more than 200 deaths and hundreds more injuries.
The US approved the sale of $735 million worth of bombs before the latest outpouring of violence between Israel and Gaza began and formally notified Congress on May 5.
Ms Ocasio-Cortez has since launched a joint resolution to block that sale, saying the US has sold billions of dollars in weaponry to Israel over the past few decades 'without ever requiring them to respect basic Palestinian rights', which she alleges has resulted in 'the death, displacement and disenfranchisement of millions'.
Advert
"At a time when so many, including President Biden, support a ceasefire, we should not be sending 'direct attack' weaponry to Prime Minister Netanyahu to prolong this violence," Ocasio-Cortez added.
Democratic politicians Mark Pocan and Rashida Tlaib have joined AOC in the campaign, who has encouraged citizens to call their representatives to get them to fight back against the sale.
"It must be said here - amplification is necessary but not sufficient," she said. "Traction on this issue is very dependent on your calls to Congress.
Retweets aren't enough. Call your member of Congress & let them know how you'd like to be represented on this matter," she said.
Advert
But they could be fighting a losing battle as the May 5 announcement in Congress has a 15-day review period that ends today (May 20) and the weapons sale could be ushered through without too much trouble.
AOC hasn't shied away from commenting on the latest war in the Middle East and even accused Israel of operating an 'apartheid state' and slammed the US President for not stepping up to its longstanding ally.
"This is happening with the support of the United States," she wrote on Twitter. "I don't care how any spokesperson tries to spin this. The US vetoed the UN call for ceasefire. If the Biden admin can't stand up to an ally, who can it stand up to? How can they credibly claim to stand for human rights?"
Featured Image Credit: PA