Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Berri: It is our fate every Eid al-Adha to offer sacrifices in defense of Lebanon and its sovereignty, and the aggression will not prevent us from celebrating our holidays
Berri: Our positions must be unifying for all Lebanese in confronting the Israeli aggressiveness, which does not target a specific sect or region, but rather all of Lebanon and the Lebanese, and even Arabs and Muslims in their holiest sanctities
Speaker of the Parliament of Lebanon Nabih Berri: Our position regarding the continuous Israeli violation of Lebanon is identical to and adopts the position of the President of the Republic in all national and sovereign dimensions
Israeli raids strike eight residential buildings in Beirut’s southern suburbs; shelling reported in Ain Qana, southern Lebanon
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Another Israeli airstrike targets Beirut’s southern suburb
Saree: The operation comes in solidarity with the oppressed Palestinian people and in response to the aggression against Beirut’s southern suburb
Yemeni Armed Forces spokesperson: The operation successfully achieved its objective, forcing millions of Israeli settlers to flee into shelters
Yemeni Armed Forces spokesperson Yahya Saree: We targeted Lod Airport (Ben Gurion Airport) in the occupied Yafa area with a hypersonic ballistic missile, the “Palestine 2” type
Salam: We call on the international community to hold "Israel" accountable, halt its attacks, and ensure full withdrawal from Lebanese territory
Salam: These attacks constitute a blatant violation of Lebanese sovereignty and UN Security Council Resolution 1701

Sanders eyes conditions for aid to 'Israel' amid war on Gaza

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 19 Nov 2023 10:45
5 Min Read

US Senator Bernie Sanders wants the United States to put conditions in place for the Israeli occupation to comply with — otherwise, it receives nothing.

  • x
  • Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., walks out of the West Wing of the White House in Washington, August 30, 2023 (AP)
    Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., walks out of the West Wing of the White House in Washington, August 30, 2023 (AP)

While the Israeli occupation, according to US Senator Bernie Sanders, has the right to "defend itself", stipulations and conditions must apply for it to continue receiving aid from the United States.

Sanders, a so-called socialist who supports the ongoing genocide perpetrated by the Israeli occupation, does not seek to defund "Israel", but rather put some laws in place so that it practices occupation and ethnic cleansing within some set boundaries.

Calling the Palestinian Resistance movement Hamas a "corrupt terrorist organization," Sanders outright ignored the right of citizens facing an occupation to bear arms and fight said occupation.

Meanwhile, he highlighted that the United States provides substantial financial aid to "Israel", amounting to $3.8 billion annually, with the Biden administration seeking an additional $14.3 billion. However, the Senator outlined specific conditions that must be met for the tremendous flow of aid to continue.

The Netanyahu government, or hopefully a new Israeli government, must understand that not one penny will be coming to Israel from the U.S. unless there is a fundamental change in their military and political positions. Read my statement: pic.twitter.com/x3LlSRhuYO

— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) November 18, 2023

Vermont's own condemned what he described as the Netanyahu government's "almost total warfare against the Palestinian people" — emphasis on "almost" — citing the displacement of 1.6 million individuals, cutting off essential supplies, and the tragic loss of Palestinian lives, particularly children.

Sanders asserted that the actions of the Israeli occupation in Gaza violate "every code of human decency" and must come to an immediate halt.

The pro-Israeli Senator put five conditions in place for the continuation of aid to "Israel", and they are as follows:

  1. Cessation of indiscriminate bombings
    Sanders called for an end to the indiscriminate bombing that has resulted in the loss of thousands of civilian lives. He urged for a significant pause in military operations to allow for massive humanitarian assistance to reach the region.

  2.  Right to return for the displaced
    Sanders insisted on recognizing the right of displaced Gazans to return to their homes.

  3. No long-term re-occupation, blockade
    The Senator demanded a commitment to avoiding long-term Israeli re-occupation or blockade of the Gaza Strip.

  4. End to settler violence, freeze on settlement expansion
    He called for an end to settler violence in the West Bank and a freeze on the expansion of Israeli settlements.

  5. Commitment to peace talks for a 'two-state solution' 
    Sanders emphasized the need for a commitment to broad peace talks, aiming for a "two-state solution" after the brutal war on Gaza is over.

According to the Democrat, not a single penny of US aid will be provided to "Israel" unless there is a "fundamental change in their military and political positions."

Calls for ceasefire

Related News

US imposes sanctions on ICC judges over Netanyahu arrest warrant

Trump would've lost election without me: Musk on X

Sanders received a letter from 330 delegates to the Democratic National Convention who backed him during his 2016 and 2020 presidential bids, urging him to introduce a resolution for a ceasefire in Gaza.

The delegates also urged him to support an end to the blockade of Gaza, the occupation of Palestinian land, US funding, and the expansion of Israeli settlements. 

The letter read, “We’ve progressed beyond the stage of seeking mere condemnations or symbolic gestures,” adding, “We concur with your assertion that these ‘unspeakable crimes’ must cease and that ‘the bombs and missiles from both sides’ should be halted. But Palestinians require more than just a ‘humanitarian pause'.” 

This comes as Congress is considering a funding request, including over $14.3 billion for "Israel", as part of a national security supplemental package, amid calls from within to halt such funding.

Avoiding the word 'ceasefire'

This comes in light of a letter sent to Sanders three weeks after hundreds of Sanders' presidential campaign alumni urged him for a ceasefire. Since its release, he has only called for a humanitarian pause; to “stop the bombing”; and asking Congress, the Biden administration, and the world to “take action".

Read next: Netanyahu less likely to listen to ceasefire even if by US

The letter came one day after over 115 former staffers for President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama praised US President Joe Biden for his “staunch support of Israel.”

Marcy Winograd, a 2020 Sanders delegate from California’s 24th congressional district and a co-founding member of the Los Angeles chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace, expressed, “As a Jewish person of conscience watching Israeli genocide in real time, I say, not in my name, not with my tax dollars, shall Israel bomb and deprive a trapped population, half of them children, of water, food, medicine and fuel."

“As a Jewish member of Congress, Senator Sanders’ voice would be particularly persuasive in demanding an end to Israel’s violations of international law that shock the world to leave us feeling unmoored from our own humanity," she added.

Earlier this month, while he called for an end to the killing of thousands of “innocent men, women and children," Sanders reiterated his stance against a ceasefire in the Strip, saying, “I don’t know how you could have a permanent ceasefire with an organization like Hamas which is dedicated to destroying the state of Israel … and has got to go."

  • United States
  • Bernie Sanders
  • Joe Biden
  • Israel
  • Palestine
  • Gaza
  • Hamas
War on Gaza

War on Gaza

Most Read

Lebanon's PM Nawaf Salam meets with US envoy Morgan Ortagus in Beirut on April 5, 2025 (Dalati Nohra via AP)AP)

Morgan Ortagus to exit US role in Lebanon amid policy shift

  • Politics
  • 1 Jun 2025
A Palestinian woman mourns as she embraces the body of her daughter Mayar Abu Odeh, 8, who was killed in an Israeli army strike on Gaza. at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Wednesday, June 4, 2025. (AP)

French port workers block arms shipment to 'Israel' amid Gaza genocide

  • Politics
  • 4 Jun 2025
It may well be due to the longstanding relationship between MI6 and HTS, via Inter Mediate, that Britain was the first Western country to recognise their assumption of government in Syria. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab El-Hajj)

How MI6 helped HTS seize Syria

  • Opinion
  • 31 May 2025
Palestinians struggle to get donated food at a community kitchen in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Monday, June 2, 2025. (AP)

Boston Consulting Group withdraws from GHF

  • Palestine
  • 3 Jun 2025

Coverage

All
War on Gaza

Read Next

All
Poll
Palestine

Sharp decline in international perception of 'Israel', Netanyahu: Poll

Ukrainian soldiers with the anti-drone KVS G-6, manufactured by Kvertus Technology.Territorial Defense Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine/Facebook
US & Canada

Shift in US priorities: Drone fuzes reallocated from Kiev to CENTCOM

US Jews accuse Trump of antisemitism despite his pro-'Israel' stance
US & Canada

US Jews accuse Trump of antisemitism despite his pro-'Israel' stance

Former US President Joe Biden speaks from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Sept. 30, 2024 (AP/Mark Schiefelbein)
US & Canada

Trump orders investigation into Biden’s autopen use, cognitive fitness

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS