‘Team’ Democrats demand end to US probe into Israel arms embargo

A trio of House Democrats from the progressive “Squad” are calling for an end to the US-led investigation into a key ally’s arms embargo against Israel.

Reps. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., Cori Bush, D-Mo., and Summer Lee, D-Pa., wrote to the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC), an independent agency that oversees maritime commerce affecting the U.S. , regarding the “decision to deny port entry to ships carrying weapons bound for the Israeli government and its ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza.”

“This investigation is a reckless insult to our allies in Spain, which has only tried in good faith to enforce its sovereign national policies and to uphold international law, including treaty obligations to prevent genocide,” the lawmakers wrote hard left line

“It is bad enough that the United States is violating these same obligations and its own domestic laws by sending these weapons. We urge you to immediately suspend this obstruction of justice and withdraw this misguided investigation.”

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Spain, a longtime US ally and NATO member, said it would stop selling arms to Israel when its war with Hamas breaks out in October 2023.

Since then, the Spanish government has been accused in three separate cases of refusing ships to dock at its ports over accusations that those ships were carrying weapons destined for Israel.

The Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, explained to the state television channel RTVE one of the events of May, as reported by the Associated Press. “The Middle East needs peace. That is why this first denial of authorization will initiate a policy for any ship carrying weapons to Israel that wants to dock in a Spanish port.”

The FMC opened its investigation earlier this month after receiving information that “indicates that Spain has refused entry to certain vessels on at least three separate occasions this year”. press release read. “The two most recent cases involved US-flagged vessels.”

The agency will now “investigate whether regulations or practices of foreign governments result in unfavorable conditions for shipping in the foreign commerce of the United States.”

But House Democrats wrote: “Spain’s decisions to ban the Maersk Denver and Maersk Seletar from transit stops at its port of Algeciras in early November, as well as its decision to deny the port of the Marianne Danica in the port of Cartegena in May this year, are legitimate actions carried out by a sovereign state to ensure that it complies with international human rights and humanitarian law.

Tlaib, Bush and Lee have been three of the strongest critics in Congress of the Israeli government since it launched its invasion of Gaza.

The campaign was launched in response to the surprise attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023 in southern Israel. Terrorists crossed the border and killed more than 1,200 Israelis who were in their homes, attending a music festival and other areas.

The response operation to eradicate Hamas in Gaza has killed more than 45,000 people, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.

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The trio of House Democrats have often accused the Biden administration of improperly accommodating Israel, the US’s closest ally in the Middle East.

They also argued that the United States has no right to investigate Spain’s decision, claiming that “these actions do not threaten the reliable international shipping supply system that the FMC is tasked with safeguarding.”

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“No US agency should be in the business of punishing or sanctioning our allies for enforcing international law that our government has refused to uphold,” they wrote.

Spain, together with Ireland and Norway, made the decision formally recognize Palestinian statehood earlier this year.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the FMC for comment.