Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) reiterated his vow to boycott “war criminal” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress, and renewed his condemnation of his response to the Israel-Hamas war.
“Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal,” Sanders said. statement He was released on Saturday. “He should not be invited to address a joint session of Congress. I certainly will not be attending.”
Sanders’ condemnation of Netanyahu and Israel’s bombing of Gaza came shortly after he received a formal invitation to speak to Congress, The Hill first reported on Friday. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) sent Netanyahu a formal invitation that was also signed by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.). The speech is expected to take place “as early as within the next eight weeks or shortly after the August recess,” a source familiar with the matter told The Hill.
Johnson, a progressive Democrat, said last week that Israel had caused “the worst humanitarian disaster in modern history” and said he would not attend any speeches by Netanyahu to Congress. That week, Johnson had been lobbying Netanyahu to address Congress. Schumer, who has previously blasted the prime minister and called for fresh elections in the country, said he was open to signing the invitation.
In a statement on Saturday, Senator Sanders said it was a “sad day” for the United States that Netanyahu had been invited by leaders of both parties. He reiterated Israel’s right to self-defense following the Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, which left some 1,200 Israelis dead and took about 250 hostages. But the Vermont senator was also strongly critical of Israel’s military operations in the Gaza Strip, slamming the death toll of civilians in the area, damage to infrastructure and the destruction of the health care system.
“Israel has no right to kill more than 34,000 civilians – five percent of Gaza’s population – and wound more than 80,000; to orphan 19,000 children; and to drive 75 percent of Gaza’s residents from their homes,” Sanders said.
“Israel has no right to devastate Gaza’s health care system, shut down 26 hospitals and kill more than 400 health care workers,” he continued. “Israel has no right to bomb all 12 of Gaza’s universities and 56 schools, denying 625,000 Gazan children an education.”
He also said Israel has no right to block humanitarian aid and that the Jewish state is violating “U.S. and international law.”
“Israel has no right to let hundreds of thousands of children starve to death,” he said, voicing support for International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Karim Khan, who is seeking arrest warrants against Prime Minister Netanyahu, Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar and Ismail Haniyeh, and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
“The ICC is right,” Sanders said. “These two men are committing clear and egregious violations of international law.”
