Bernie Sanders accuses Israel of violating 'international law' in conflict with Palestinians. Controversial stance ignites debate.
Sen.
Bernie Sanders accused Israel of embarking on a war against the “entire
Palestinian people” and claimed that the US ally has “broken international
law.”
“What
Israel has done over the last seven months has not just gone to war against
Hamas. It has gone to war against the entire Palestinian people, and the
results have been absolutely catastrophic,” Sanders (I-Vt.) told NBC’s “Meet
the Press” on Sunday.
Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reported that roughly 16,000 civilians and14,000
terrorists have been killed in the war against Hamas during a recent interview
with TV’s “Dr. Phil” McGraw.
Sanders,
82, a Jewish senator who announced last week he’s running for re-election, has
long been fiercely critical of Israel’s war against Hamas.
Secretary
of State Antony Blinken underscored that the State Department hasn’t yet drawn
“definitive conclusions,” but Sanders said the verdict is clear.
“The
reality is, as I think any objective observer knows, Israel has broken
international law. It has broken American law,” Sanders said.
“In
my view, Israel should not be receiving another nickel in US military aid.”
Sanders
commended Blinken, saying he has an “impossibly difficult job” and lauded
President Joe Biden over his decision to halt a major bomb shipment to Israel
amid a standstill over the southern Gazan city of Rafah.
“I
certainly support the president saying that it is absurd to provide Israel with
2,000-pound bombs which could level an entire square block in the midst of
Rafah, which is an incredibly densely populated area,” Sanders said.
Biden
has not ruled out shipping those bombs to Israel but publicly confirmed that he
is halting them for now amid concerns about Rafah.
At
one point, Rafah was estimated to house roughly 1.5 million Palestinians who
fled the fighting up north. Many of the refugees have lived in tents over the
past couple of weeks.
Netanyahu
has vowed to forge ahead into Rafah, claiming that it is one of the last major
strongholds of Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Biden, 81, has opposed this unless
Israel can produce a credible plan for civilians.
Sanders
warned that Biden could see his progressive base of young voters fray over the
Israel-Hamas war and affirmed he believes the conflict could wind up being the
president’s Vietnam.
“I
am strongly supporting the president because on many domestic issues, he has
done an excellent job. But I think there are a lot of people in the Democratic
base who are concerned about his support for Israel in this war,” Sanders said.
“I
think age is a factor. Experience is the factor. Accomplishment is a factor.
And most importantly, a factor in politics is what do you believe in. And I
would hope that the people of Vermont and the people of the United States look
at candidates in their totality,” he said.
“I
would not have announced … my intention to seek re-election unless I felt
pretty good.”
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