Sanders says US must not be complicit in Gaza, fails to call genocide

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
21 Feb 2024 12:55
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US Senator Bernie Sanders posts on X a video talking about the need to make sure the US ends its complicity in Israeli crimes across the Gaza Strip.

Senator Bernie Sanders, speaks during a news conference on January 25, 2024, at the Capitol in Washington. (AP)

US Senator Bernie Sanders announced that the US cannot be complicit in the "horrific" aggression perpetrated by "Israel" in the Gaza Strip against the Palestinian people, however, Sanders made no reference to a genocide happening in the strip.

"The whole world is watching. (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu is starving the children of Gaza. We cannot be complicit in this atrocity,” Sanders said in a video message on X, adding "I cannot find words to describe how horrific the situation is and could become."

The whole world is watching as Netanyahu and his right-wing government starve the children of Gaza and wage war against the Palestinian people. The U.S. must not continue its complicity in this horrific war. pic.twitter.com/myXFHxgOmc
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) February 20, 2024

Due to the Israeli occupation's airstrikes and restrictions on humanitarian aid reaching Gaza, Sanders emphasized that only a minute portion of the urgently required supplies, including food, water, medicine, and fuel, can make their way into Gaza.

"Today, hundreds of thousands of children are starving and lack clean drinking water. The United Nations says the entire population of Gaza is at imminent risk of famine and some 378,000 people are starving right now," stressed Sanders.

This comes after widescale backlash against Sanders for actively avoiding calling the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip a genocide, despite being asked "three times whether he thinks Israel's assault on Gaza constitutes a genocide."

I asked Bernie Sanders three times whether he thinks Israel's assault on Gaza constitutes a genocide.

Here's what he said. pic.twitter.com/vnwGV2lW3j
— Ash Sarkar (@AyoCaesar) February 19, 2024

Senate rejects Sanders resolution on human rights violations in Gaza

The US Senate on Tuesday rejected a resolution that would have halted security aid to "Israel" if the State Department produced a report within 30 days assessing whether "Israel" committed human rights violations in its war on Gaza.

The resolution was set aside with 72 senators voting against it, while 11 supported it, as the nay-votes greatly surpassed the simple majority needed to defeat the resolution in the 100-member chamber.

Despite the resolution's decisive defeat, it highlighted increasing unease among some of President Joe Biden's Democrats, particularly on the left, regarding the provision of US weapons to "Israel" amid the significant humanitarian impact on Palestinian civilians in the war on Gaza.

Sanders emphasized in a speech urging support, "We must ensure that US aid is being used in accordance with human rights and our own laws." He expressed disappointment over what he described as the Senate's failure to consider any measure examining the impact of the war on civilians.

The White House had expressed its opposition to the resolution, as it had the potential to open the door to imposing conditions on security assistance to "Israel". Senators who were against the proposal argued that it conveyed the wrong message, especially when "Israel" had indicated a shift toward a more targeted campaign, 24,000 victims later.

"This resolution is not only off-base, it's dangerous. It sends absolutely the wrong signal at the wrong time," said Republican Senator Lindsey Graham.

It is noteworthy that Sanders' request was submitted under the Foreign Assistance Act, which allows the US Congress to direct the State Department to provide a report on human rights and other information about any country that receives US security assistance.