Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Sunday stated that whereas he acknowledges Israel as a Jewish state, he argues that the latest choices by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and actions taken by the Israeli authorities have made it “virtually a pariah state.”
Throughout an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Sanders was requested about latest strikes made by Israel, which embrace Netanyahu’s determination to additional take over the Gaza Strip amid worldwide criticism and rising calls within the U.S. to rein within the Israeli chief.
When requested whether or not he believes “within the notion of Israel as a Jewish state,” Sanders stated he did for “numerous causes,” however stated that latest strikes made by the federal government have made it “virtually a pariah state.”
“Proper now, what Netanyahu has achieved, what the Israeli authorities has achieved, is turn out to be virtually a pariah state, and I worry very a lot that Israel now could be appeared in very, very unfavorable gentle by folks everywhere in the world, everywhere in the world, not simply in the USA,” he stated.
Sanders stated Israel had a proper to defend itself from the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, assault, when militants killed about 1,200 folks and kidnapped 251, according to the Associated Press.
“Look, Israel had a proper, after all, to defend itself from the horrible terrorist assault from Hamas, however what they’ve achieved since then is gone to warfare in opposition to the complete Palestinian folks,” Sanders stated, including that tens of 1000’s of individuals, together with youngsters, are ravenous in Gaza, noting that Netanyahu determined to “impose a blockade, stopping meals to return in.”
When requested whether or not Hamas can be at fault for ravenous folks in Gaza, Sanders argued that Israel is, “with few exceptions, in charge of the navy scenario.”
“It’s not Hamas,” he continued. “Hamas is a horrible terrorist group…and I actually hope they haven’t any future in a brand new Gaza Palestine. However the fault proper now could be 100% on the Netanyahu authorities.”
His feedback come after Netanyahu introduced strikes to escalate the battle by increasing its navy management of the Gaza Strip, which President Trump has given a tacit green light to.