Martha Raddatz, let’s talk about those weapons. You’ve been outspoken about the United States continuing to supply arms. But these were approved long ago. So what could the Biden administration do?
Van Hollen: Well, it’s great to be with you. This Easter, the world needs a little more hope, like a ceasefire and the return of all hostages. The Biden administration had planned to submit a new weapons proposal to Congress. They decided not to do that because they obviously knew they would run into resistance, so they essentially executed their final plan with this earlier version. So, Martha, my opinion is that we shouldn’t send any more bombs until the Netanyahu government allows more aid to Gaza to help people who are literally starving to death.
RADDATZ: Do you think they should have tried to stop this by just not sending more weapons?
Mr. Van Hollen: I think the Biden administration needs to enforce the president’s demands. He had his two very simple requests. The first is to allow more humanitarian aid to Gaza. The president made no excuses. He also said the invasion of Rafah was a red line. So my view is that as part of the partnership, we need to get those assurances from the Netanyahu government upfront, rather than sending arms now and asking questions later.
RADDATZ: But how do you do that? You listened to Prime Minister Netanyahu. You know he has a resolute attitude. You know he’s said it many times: we can’t defeat Hamas unless we keep going the way we’ve been going. So how can you push him further if you can’t stop the weapon?
Van Hollen: Well, I think we need to use leverage more effectively. We have a variety of influences, one of which is to send in more offensive weapons. President Biden therefore needs to be as serious about ensuring more humanitarian aid reaches Gaza as Prime Minister Netanyahu has been demanding. So we have a situation where the Netanyahu government continues to repeatedly reject the US president and ignore his reasonable requests. And what should we do? He says he’s going to send more bombs.
My view is that the partnership needs to be a two-way street, not a one-way blank check for American taxpayers. So this is not to say we won’t provide weapons anymore. That means “I have a request.” Don’t let people starve.
