{"id":30389,"date":"2023-12-06T11:19:50","date_gmt":"2023-12-06T19:19:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=30389"},"modified":"2023-12-06T11:19:51","modified_gmt":"2023-12-06T19:19:51","slug":"sanders-rejects-10-billion-in-aid-for-extremist-netanyahu-government","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2023\/12\/06\/sanders-rejects-10-billion-in-aid-for-extremist-netanyahu-government\/","title":{"rendered":"Sanders Rejects $10 Billion in Aid for ‘Extremist Netanyahu Government’"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Bernie<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) speaks to reporters after a Senate luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on November 28, 2023. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Photo: Tom Williams\/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Israel’s indiscriminate approach is, in my view, offensive to most Americans, it is in violation of U.S. and international law, and it undermines the prospects for lasting peace and security.”<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

JAKE JOHNSON<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dec 05, 2023 (CommonDreams.org)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders<\/a> said Monday that he opposes sending billions of dollars in additional military assistance to the Israeli government as it continues to wage a catastrophic war on the Gaza Strip, an assault that the Vermont senator described as unlawful and “immoral.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I do not believe we should be appropriating over $10 billion for the right-wing, extremist Netanyahu government to continue its current military approach,” Sanders, who has faced backlash from progressives<\/a> and some of his former campaign staffers for refusing to support a permanent cease-fire, said in remarks on the Senate floor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sanders’ speech came as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) set the stage for a procedural vote on a $106 billion supplemental package that includes military assistance for Israel and Ukraine. The vote is expected to fail<\/a> as Republicans push for the inclusion of asylum restrictions that progressive Democrats have condemned as draconian<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Vermont senator, for his part, decried the lack of attention to domestic emergencies in the bill, from childcare<\/a> to primary healthcare<\/a> to housing<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I am deeply concerned that this legislation has no investments to address the needs of working families in the United States\u201460% of whom are living paycheck to paycheck,” Sanders said, noting that the supplemental bill includes “tens of billions” in military spending that should be dedicated to “some of the enormous domestic crises we face.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sanders went on to slam the proposed $10.1 billion in no-strings-attached military aid that would “allow the Netanyahu government to continue its current offensive military approach” in which the U.S. is complicit<\/a>, having supplied<\/a> the Israeli military with around 15,000 bombs and tens of thousands of artillery shells.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The senator said he would support “defense systems” to protect Israeli citizens from rocket attacks fired by the groups involved in the deadly October 7 attack. But “Israel’s indiscriminate approach is, in my view, offensive to most Americans, it is in violation of U.S. and international law, and it undermines the prospects for lasting peace and security,” said Sanders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Israel must dramatically change its approach to minimize civilian harm and lay out a wider political process that can secure lasting peace,” he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That process, Sanders said, must include “a guarantee that displaced Palestinians will have the absolute right to return to their homes as Gaza rebuilds; it will include no long-term occupation or blockade of Gaza; an end to the killings of Palestinians in the West Bank and a freeze on new settlements there; and, perhaps most importantly, a commitment to broad peace talks to advance a new two-state solution in the wake of this war.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n