Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) said Sunday on CNN’s “State of The Union” that he was introducing a resolution to investigate Israel for human rights abuses in their war against Hamas
Anchor Jake Tapper said, “Let’s talk about the war waging in Gaza. You’re trying to direct the U.S. State Department to look floor whether Israel is using U.S. equipment or assistance to violate human rights standards in Gaza. The spokesperson for the National Security Council John Kirby responded to your plan saying, ‘We do not believe that this resolution is the right vehicle to address these issues and we don’t think now is the right time. The Israelis will have a much lower transition and reducing civilian casualties and increasing humanitarian assistance.’ What do you say to that?”
Sanders said, “I strongly disagree. Jake, we’ve got as Americans to take a very deep breath. What is going on in Gaza right now is a horrendous humanitarian catastrophe. We’re looking at 23,000 people who have been killed, almost 60,000 have been wounded and two-thirds of the people willed can women and children. You’re looking at 70% of the housing units in Gaza that have been destroyed. If I use the word Dresden, Germany, you think about the horrific destruction of that city, what is going on in Gaza now in three months is worse than what took place in Dresden over a two-year period.”
He continued, “This is a catastrophe. Now according to the united in a nations, after you have 1.9 people displaced, with no food or water or medical equipment or fuel. What you’re looking at is imminent starvation. Children are starving to death. So my view has been from the beginning, Israel has a right to respond to this horrific terrorist attack from Hamas. But you do not have the right to go to war against an entire people, women and children, and the United States Congress has got to act because a lot of this destruction is being done with military weapon supplied by the United States of America.”
Sanders added, “And what the resolution that I’m introduced is about. It is consistent with a foreign assistance act. Saying that an American military assistance is given to any other country, Saudi Arabia or Israel, has to be used consistent with international human right standards and American law. In my opinion, that is certainly not the case. We have a horrific humanitarian catastrophe. We could not turn our backs on it. Congress has start moving to protect children in Palestine.”
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