'Should not be receiving another nickel': Bernie Sanders says US should no longer send military aid to Israel for breaking international laws

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Senator Bernie Sanders insisted that the United States should no longer send aid Israel during his appearance on NBC's 'Meet the Press' on Sunday, May 12.

His remarks were in light of a report that came from the US State Department on Friday that criticized Israel for being "inconsistent" with trying to "mitigate civilian harm" during its assault on Gaza to root out Hamas.

According to Fox News, the report found "reasonable" evidence to conclude that Israel had breached international law during the war, though it admitted that the ally nation "had to confront an extraordinary military challenge: Hamas has embedded itself deliberately within and underneath the civilian population to use civilians as human shields."

"It is often difficult to determine facts on the ground in an active war zone of this nature and the presence of legitimate military targets across Gaza," it added.

Bernie Sanders' stance on Israel

"Any objective observer knows Israel has broken international law, it has broken American law, and in my view, Israel should not be receiving another nickel in US military aid," Sanders told host Kristen Welker.

"Look the facts are quite clear. Hamas is a terrible disgusting terrorist organization that began this war. Though what Israel has done over the last seven months has not just gone to war against Hamas, it has gone to war against the entire Palestinian people. And results have been absolutely catastrophic."

Approximately 35,000 Palestinians were killed since the launch of the assault and 77,000 are wounded, with two-thirds being women and children, suggests data from the Palestinian government.

Citing the figures, the 82-year-old continued, "That is not the way you conduct a war in a civilized society to the degree that war is civilized. We’re talking about 60% of the housing in Gaza having been destroyed. The civilian infrastructure – that is water, that is sewage now running out into the streets. No electricity. You are talking about a systematic destruction of the healthcare system there. Every university in Gaza has been bombed, and right now, most frighteningly, according to the humanitarian organizations, we are looking at the likelihood of hundreds of thousands of children facing starvation."

"Any country that blocks US humanitarian aid is in violation of law and should not continue to receive military aid from the United States," he noted.

Welkers mentioned lawmakers, including 26 House Democrats, being concerned about the message being sent to the US adversaries in the region by stopping the aid for Israel.

"Does withholding weapons to Israel run the risk of prolonging this war and weakening Israel’s hand against Hamas?" she asked.

"Every Republican, as I understand it, wants to give huge amounts of money to Israel. My guess is many Republicans want Israel to go into Rafah despite the incredible humanitarian destruction that will cause. And there are Democrats who also feel that way," replied Sanders.

"That is not what the American people feel. Poll after poll suggests that the American people want an immediate ceasefire. They want massive humanitarian aid to get in. People of our country do not want to be complicit in the starvation of hundreds of thousands of children. In terms of the international community, we are increasingly isolated in terms of our support for Israel, who is becoming a pariah nation," he added.

When further questioned on the chances of getting "rid of Hamas" whose "very goal is to destroy Israel’s existence" in a "nonmilitary way", the Senator shared, "You’re right… that is exactly right. That is their goal. It is difficult. I don’t want to minimize this, so the goal is to defeat Hamas, but not to destroy or cause the enormous amount of destruction that we’re now seeing in Gaza. And I hope that the future for the Palestinian people is a new generation or Palestinian leaders who focus on allowing the people to have a state of their own."

Internet divided as Bernie Sanders says US should not send military aid to Israel

Netizens took to X, formerly Twitter, to express their views over Bernie Sanders' stance against Israel and were divided in their opinions.

"Time for Bernie to retire and go find something else to do," wrote a social media user.

"Bernie Sander is a wealthy communist. It's no surprise that he would come out on the wrong side of the decision to be made," accused another.

"Neither should Ukraine but here we are," jibed one person.

"America is complicit in war crimes...again," stated another, slamming the support for Israel.

"He is absolutely right," noted one individual.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.