AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org. I’m Amy Goodman.

CNN is reporting President Donald Trump spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu in a phone call this week and urged him to end the war in Gaza, among other topics.

For more, we’re joined by Democratic Congressmember Delia Ramirez of Chicago, who has introduced legislation called the Block the Bombs Act, that would withhold the transfer of offensive weapons to Israel and demand Israel’s compliance with U.S. and international law. Congressmember Ramirez joins us now from Capitol Hill.

Can you lay out what’s in the bill, Congressmember?

REP. DELIA RAMIREZ: Yeah. Amy, first of all, let me start by telling you that everything is connected. You just heard that from Hala. It is so important to understand that in this precise moment, what Bibi Netanyahu wants is to continue to escalate this ground invasion and starvation of Palestinians, to absolutely take over Gaza and destroy Palestinian life. That’s what he wants to do. Donald Trump wants to help him, and he wants to redevelop the land.

Block the Bombs Act bill is critical and urgent. It’s why we have 23 sponsors as we speak right now. It withholds a set of offensive weapons that you and I both know have been used repeatedly by Bibi Netanyahu, with the authority of Donald Trump and previous administrations, to be able to bomb children. So, what this bill does is withholds this set of offensive weapons, and it says that if Bibi Netanyahu, if the Israeli government wants to use any of these weapons, it would have to prove that it is not violating U.S., international and human rights law, which you and I both know is very difficult for a fascist like Bibi Netanyahu, with his extremist friend, the duo, Donald Trump.

AMY GOODMAN: How much support do you have for cutting off offensive weapons support to Israel?

REP. DELIA RAMIREZ: Amy, it’s a bill, not a resolution. I’m certainly a co-sponsor of the joint resolutions that we have seen of disapproval. But as of today, there are 23 members of Congress who have signed on to this bill, 22 original co-sponsors, including three Jewish members as original co-leads and co-sponsors. And we have a number of others from all over the country.

We are talking to people every single day. There are people across the states that are calling and saying, “Congressmember, if you believe, if you are a pro-peace member of Congress, if you have tired of seeing the death toll and starvation of Palestinians, you must sign on to Block the Bombs bill.” And I believe that more will go ahead and add on to the support. This is commonsense, Amy. We can’t keep watching this and go to sleep and act like we have no responsibility. Silence is complicity. We will wake up years from now and ask ourselves, “What the heck did we do in this moment?” Block the Bombs Act bill gives us an opportunity to finally assert our power as Congress.

AMY GOODMAN: Representative Delia Ramirez, we’re going to ask you to stay with us, Democratic congressmember from Illinois, daughter of Guatemalan immigrants. When we come back, we’ll ask her about how Chicago is one of the five Democratic cities where President Trump has announced he’s sending armed ICE tactical teams, and how thousands of protesters have been marching through the streets of Chicago this week. Stay with us.

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AMY GOODMAN: “Strawberry Fields Forever,” a rendition of La Santa Cecilia, here in our Democracy Now! studio.