Sanders says there’s not ‘any doubt’ what Netanyahu is doing now is ‘ethnic cleansing’

Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vermont) attacked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu again on Sunday, calling Israel’s actions in Gaza “ethnic cleansing.”

On CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday, Sanders reiterated his familiar call to hold Netanyahu accountable for Israel’s actions in Gaza, pointing to the region’s staggering death toll and displacement of Palestinians. . He was asked to respond to the ongoing pro-Palestinian protests erupting on college campuses across the country and to comments made by Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) during a visit to Columbia University last week. .

“I think Mr. Ilhan’s important point is that we don’t want to see anti-Semitism in this country. And I think the word genocide is something that is being judged by the International Court of Justice,” he said. Ta.

“But I think what I’m going to say is that there is no question that what Prime Minister Netanyahu is doing now, which is displacing 80% of the population of the Gaza Strip, is ethnic cleansing. .That’s it. It’s about displacing a huge number of people,” he added.

Omar visited the Columbia University campus last week, where hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered at the school, drawing national attention. CNN aired a clip of her comments about the ongoing protests on Sunday’s “State of the Union.”

“The fact that all Jewish children should be kept safe and that anti-Semitism and bigotry against all Jewish students, whether pro-genocide or anti-genocide, should not be tolerated. I think it’s really unfortunate that people don’t care about the facts,” she said.

Sanders has repeatedly criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the ongoing war in Gaza and opposed further U.S. funding for Israel. He also renewed his call for an end to U.S. funding for Israel’s actions in Gaza.

“And now we are looking at the possibility of an attack on Rafah, where people come as a so-called safe zone. So what is happening there is still outrageous in my opinion. And, as you pointed out, I strongly oppose US funding of Netanyahu’s war machine,” he added.