Bernie Sanders pushes to end Israel aid, calling Gaza war ‘illegal and immoral’

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) called on Congress to reject the $10.1 billion in military aid to Israel that lawmakers are currently negotiating as part of a national security spending bill, calling Israel’s military operations in Gaza a “brutal war against the Palestinian people.”

The Vermont senator emphasized that the war began as a result of “Hamas’ barbaric terrorist attack” but said the military response from Israel has been “grossly disproportionate, immoral, and in violation of international law.”

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“Most importantly for Americans, we must understand that Israel’s war against the Palestinian people has been significantly waged with U.S. bombs, artillery shells, and other forms of weaponry. And the results have been catastrophic,” Sanders said in a press release on Tuesday that decried Israel’s “illegal and immoral war.”

The statement comes after Democrats had sharp criticism for the Biden administration on Friday when the State Department approved the sale of nearly 14,000 tank shells worth roughly $106 million to Israel, bypassing Congress.

Jose Luis Magana/AP

The Defense Department said Friday that Secretary of State Antony Blinken had notified Congress about its second emergency determination to cover over $147.5 million in equipment sales, including new fuses and chargers for the 155 mm shells already purchased by the Israeli military.

Earlier last month, Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, announced a proposal intended to force a debate under the Foreign Assistance Act, which prohibits assistance to any government engaging in a consistent pattern of “gross violations of internationally recognized human rights.”

If the resolution is passed, the administration has to submit a report on the country’s human rights practices within 30 days, or all security assistance to the country automatically stops.

Sanders, who is Jewish, continues to escalate his rhetoric. Last month, he also sent a letter to Biden on Tuesday urging the administration to withhold the funding, calling Israel’s military operations in Gaza a “mass atrocity.”

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The conflict in Israel has exposed a divide among Democrats, with some of the most liberal criticizing the Biden administration for not pressuring Israel to commit to a ceasefire.

After Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack in Israel that killed mostly 1,200 civilians, the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry is reporting nearly 22,185 people have been killed in Gaza.