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Senator Bernie Sanders: ‘Hamas and Netanyahu must go’

US Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) spoke to Margaret Brennan, of CBS News, on the challenges involved in the war between Israel and Hamas reaching a critical point as the holy month of Ramadan begins, and renewed fears of violence in Jerusalem.

Senator Sanders, who has long been a critic of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, believes that US President Biden is not doing enough to pressure Netanyahu into letting humanitarian aid into Gaza,

  • “I’ve spoken to people very high up in his administration. What we are seeing in Gaza today is literally an unprecedented crisis. It’s not just that 30,000 people, two-thirds of them are women and children have already been killed. We are looking at the possibility of hundreds of thousands of children starving to death. The USA cannot be complicit in this mass slaughter of children. So it is one thing to talk to Netanyahu to pressure Netanyahu. But here is the bottom line. Year after year, we have provided billions of dollars in military aid to the Government of Israel.”
  • According to him: “Right now, you have a right-wing extremist government under Netanyahu. There are plans to provide him with another $10 billion in unfettered military aid. What you can say to Netanyahu: ‘Stop the slaughter, allow the massive amounts of humanitarian aid that we need to come in to feed the children. Please, please, please. Oh, but by the way, if you don’t do it, here’s another $10 billion to continue the war. Now we have written a letter to the president, it turns out that Israel is in violation of the law, stopping US humanitarian aid is in violation of the law. That should be clear, no more money to Netanyahu’s war machine to kill Palestinian children.

Regarding the claim that Israel is in violation of the Foreign Assistance Act and the Leahy Act, Sanders believes that although this is an election year, the President should halt, pause, or condition aid to Israel, one of the US’s closest allies in the Middle East.

  • You can’t beg Netanyahu, you have to tell him if you want any money, you have to change your policy. Allow the trucks to come in to feed their children. The truth is, whether you’re a conservative Republican or a progressive, you do not want to see children in Palestine starve to death. So I think it’s good politics, and it’s the moral and right thing to do.”

Senator Sanders believes that a ceasefire is needed tomorrow so that the trucks, the massive amount of humanitarian aid can come in to feed the people who are starving.

  • “But Hamas is dedicated to destroying Israel. The Netanyahu government is dedicated to destroying Hamas. I think at the end of the day, Hammas cannot continue to run Gaza. And the Netanyahu government cannot continue to run Israel if we’re going to ever bring peace to that region. A temporary ceasefire is sufficient at the moment to feed the children right now.”

President Biden claims that “Israel plans to launch an operation into the southern city of Rafah in southern Gaza, but even though it is a red line, but I’m never going leave Israel.

  • “The defense of Israel is still critical. So there’s no red line. I’m going to cut off all weapons so they don’t have the Iron Dome to protect them. They don’t have- but there are red lines that if he crosses, they can not have 30,000 more Palestinians dead.”

In response to this Senator Sanders says that, “1.7 million Palestinians, 80% of their population have been driven from their homes and displaced. Many of them end up in Rafah. To go in there and to displace them again and start a major military campaign would be an unmitigated disaster. So my view is, of course, we cannot support an attack of that kind on Rafah. The bottom line is, though, Netanyahu has got to be told no more money for his war machine, unless there is humanitarian aid coming in to feed the people.”

Source: Arutz Sheva