Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vermont) said that despite the findings of a recent State Department report, Israel should not receive “another nickel” in U.S. military aid.
“Any objective observer knows that Israel violates international law and violates U.S. law,” Sanders said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” In our view, Israel should receive no further U.S. military aid.” “Look, the facts are crystal clear: Hamas is a horrible, horrible terrorist organization that started this war. We waged war against them, and the results were absolutely disastrous.”
His remarks came in response to the US State Department’s criticism on Friday of Israel’s use of US-supplied weapons in a potentially “inconsistent” manner in “civilian harm mitigation” in the Gaza war. It came out as.
The finding of “reasonable” evidence concluding that U.S. allies violated international law protecting civilians in the way they waged war against Hamas is the strongest announcement yet by the Biden administration on the issue. It became a statement. The report, sent to Congress on Friday and obtained by Fox News Digital, said: “Israel has had to face an extraordinary military challenge. “He deliberately planted himself inside people and underground.”
The report added: “It is often difficult to determine the facts on the ground in an active conflict zone of this nature and the presence of legitimate military targets throughout Gaza.”
State Department criticizes Israel’s attempts to ‘mitigate civilian casualties’ in Gaza war: report
Sen. Bernie Sanders said Israel is becoming a “pariah” state. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Sanders cited figures from the Hamas-controlled Palestinian Authority that say around 35,000 Palestinians have been killed and another 77,000 injured, two-thirds of them women and children. Stated.
“As civilized as war is, it is not the way to wage war in a civilized society,” he continued. “We are talking about 60% of housing in Gaza being destroyed. Civil infrastructure, meaning water, meaning sewage, is now flowing out into the streets. There is no electricity. We’re talking about destruction.” All universities in Gaza have been bombed and, most horrifyingly, hundreds of thousands of children are now thought to be facing starvation. Masu.
“Countries that block U.S. humanitarian aid are breaking the law and should not continue to receive military aid from the United States,” Sanders said.
“Meet the Press” host Kristen Welker said Friday that 26 House Democrats recently sent a letter to White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan saying that “the administration is “We are deeply concerned about the message we are sending to the terrorists we support.” At a critical moment in the negotiations, he acted as a proxy by withholding arms shipments to Israel. ”
As the conflict between Israel and Hamas continues, smoke rises from Israeli artillery fire in Jabalia, northern Gaza Strip, on May 12, 2024. (AFP via Getty Images)
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“Does withholding arms from Israel risk prolonging this war and weakening Israel’s hand against Hamas?” Mr. Welker asked Mr. Sanders.
“My understanding is that all Republicans want to give large sums of money to Israel. My guess is that many Republicans want to give large sums of money to Israel, even though it would cause incredible humanitarian destruction. “I want Israel to rush into Rafah. And there are some Democrats who feel that way,” Sanders said. “That’s not how the American people feel. Poll after poll shows that the American people want an immediate cease-fire. They want a massive influx of humanitarian aid. Hundreds of thousands of our people… Children who do not want to be a part of human hunger. ”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s department on Friday sent a report to Congress on “reasonable” evidence concluding that Israel violated international law protecting civilians in its war with Hamas. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
“We are increasingly isolated in terms of our support for Israel, which is becoming a pariah state in the international community,” he added.
“Is there a non-military way to eliminate Hamas? Given the threat Hamas poses? Given that they claim their very objective is to destroy the existence of Israel?” Welker pushed back.
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“You’re right…exactly. That’s their goal. It’s difficult,” Sanders said. “I don’t want to trivialize this, so the goal is to defeat Hamas, not to destroy or cause enormous destruction like what we’re seeing in Gaza right now. And I don’t want to trivialize this. “I hope it’s a bright spot.” A new generation of Palestinian leaders focused on allowing the people to have their own state. ”
Fox News’ Brie Stimson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
