US Senator from the state of Vermont, Bernie Sanders, of Jewish origin, reacted harshly to US President Donald Trump’s administration’s proposed $8.8 billion new arms sales to Israel. Noting that a vote will be held in the Senate next week to halt arms sales to Israel, Sanders described Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s attacks on the Gaza Strip as an “illegal war.”
“Ethnic cleansing, war crime”
Drawing attention to the destruction in Gaza, Sanders stated that more than 50 thousand Palestinians have lost their lives in Israel’s military operations to date. Sanders, using the phrases, “Trump wants to forcibly displace 2 million people to build a billionaire’s playground in Gaza,” described Trump’s plan for Gaza as “ethnic cleansing” and a “war crime.”
“Netanyahu is in clear violation of US and international law”
Sanders reported that he will submit two separate Joint Resolutions of Disapproval to the Senate next week, aiming to stop the $8.8 billion package covering offensive munitions, bombs and other weapons that the Trump administration planned to sell to Israel. Sanders, using the phrases, “Netanyahu is in clear violation of US and international law. We must stop being complicit in this massacre,” said that the arms sales were further deepening the humanitarian crisis in Gaza in particular. Emphasizing that
humanitarian aid entry to Gaza has been completely halted for more than 3.5 weeks, Sanders stated that due to the blockade imposed by Israeli authorities, there is no food, water, medicine and fuel in the region. Sanders emphasized that this situation violates both the Geneva Convention and international humanitarian law.
“The US should not continue to provide unlimited military aid to the Netanyahu government”
Drawing attention to the fact that Israel is raining 2,000-pound bombs on civilian areas with weapons financed by US taxpayers, Sanders stated that these attacks are completely devoid of moral and legal ground. Sanders, who used the phrases “The US should not continue to provide unlimited military aid to the Netanyahu government,” reminded Trump’s plan to create a “Riviera” in Gaza, saying that this is directly part of a policy of forced displacement.
Sanders, using the expressions, "More than 50 thousand Palestinians lost their lives in this war, more than 112 thousand were injured. 60 percent of the injured are women, children and the elderly," reminded that 8 aid workers lost their lives in Gaza this week and a total of 399 aid workers were killed. Sanders announced that the civilian infrastructure, health system and all universities in Gaza were targeted in Israel's attacks.
