Bernie Sanders to boycott meeting with “war criminal” Netanyahu
Jewish-American Senator Bernie Sanders said on June 1st that he will not attend a congressional speech by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was formally invited to a joint meeting with US Congress, The New Arab and agencies reported.
In a statement on X, Sanders said that the congressional meeting would mark “a sad day for our country.” “Netanyahu is a war criminal,” he added. “I certainly will not attend.”
Sanders also included a list of acts that Israel has no right to do, such as “[going] to war against the entire Palestinian people,” as well causing the mass displacement of Gaza’s residents and the destruction of key infrastructure like schools and the water, sewage systems and healthcare systems.
Sanders also expressed his support for International Criminal Courts (ICC) chief prosecutor Karim Khan’s seeking arrest warrants for both Netanyahu and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
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“The ICC is right,” wrote Sanders. “Both of these people are engaged in clear and outrageous violations of international law.”
Sander’s comments come amid growing dissent from within the US over Biden’s reaction to Israel’s war on Gaza. In May, the Biden administration confirmed that it planned to send $1 billion worth of military aid.
On May 30th, US State Department official Stacy Gilbert resigned in protest against an alleged “patently, demonstrably, quantifiably false” department report that claimed Israel had not been blocking humanitarian aid into Gaza.
She is among eight other US officials who have publicly resigned over Biden’s support for Israel, although Gilbert claims at least two dozen more have done so without public declarations.
The New Arab and agencies
