‘Squad’ Dems demand end to US investigation into anti-Israel weapons embargo

A trio of House Democrats in the progressive “Squad” are demanding an end to the US-led investigation into the 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 Spain “the decision to deny port entry to ships carrying weapons for the Israeli government and its continued genocide of the Palestinian people in Gaza.”

“This investigation is a wanton insult to our allies in Spain, which has only sought in good faith to implement its sovereign national policy and respect international law, including its treaty obligations to prevent genocide,” the hard-left lawmakers wrote.

“It is bad enough that the United States is violating those same obligations and its own domestic laws by sending these weapons. We call on you to immediately end 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 war with Hamas broke out in October 2023.

Since then, the Spanish government has been accused in three separate cases of denying ships access to its ports because of allegations that the ships were carrying weapons destined for Israel.

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told state TV channel RTVE about one of the incidents in May, according to Associated Press. “The Middle East needs peace. That’s why this first refusal of authorization will trigger a policy for every ship carrying weapons for Israel that wants to dock in a Spanish port.”

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

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

But Democrats in the House of Representatives 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 docking to the Mariana Danica in the port of Cartagena in May this year, legitimate are actions taken 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 most vocal critics of the Israeli government in Congress since it began its invasion of Gaza.

The campaign was launched in response to Hamas’ surprise attack on October 7, 2023 in southern Israel. Terrorists crossed the border and killed more than 1,200 Israelis who were in their homes, at 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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A trio of House Democrats have often accused the Biden administration of making inappropriate tacit concessions to Israel, America’s closest ally in the Middle East.

They also argued that the US had no right to investigate Spain’s decision, arguing that “these actions do not threaten the reliable international ocean transportation supply system that the FMC is tasked with safeguarding.”

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

Spain, along with Ireland and Norway, made a decision officially recognize Palestinian statehood earlier this year.

Fox News Digital has reached out to FMC for comment.