US politicians step up condemnation of Israel over Gaza
Connecticut Democrat Chris #Murphy, a member of the Senate foreign relations committee, warned that Hamas was likely to become stronger if Israel waged an all-out assault in Rafah.
“I want #Hamas gone,” Murphy said. “I don’t want them to ever have the ability to hit Israel again. ⭐️[But] I worry that the number of civilians that are dying are ultimately going to provide permanent recruiting material to Hamas, and it will be a threat for years to come.
“We cannot have an invasion of Rafah that ends up in tens of thousands of additional civilians dying. ⭐️That will be bad for Israel from a moral and strategic standpoint.”
He continued: “So I am certainly willing to call out Israel when I think that they have made strategic and moral mistakes in this war. We should [also] be calling out Hamas for the attacks that began this war, the way in which they have violated the rules of engagement, and the fact that the quickest route to end this war is for Hamas to surrender and protect the people of Gaza.”
Murphy’s comments amounted to some of the strongest criticism yet by a centrist US politician against Israel, which the Gaza health ministry said on Sunday had now killed more than 35,000 people in strikes since the 7 October attacks by Hamas.
Stronger condemnation came from Vermont Democratic senator Bernie #Sanders, a member of the party’s progressive wing.
“Any objective observer knows Israel has ⭐️broken international law … has ⭐️broken American law – and in my view, Israel should not be receiving another nickel in US military aid,” he told NBC’s Meet the Press, adding that Hamas was “a terrible, disgusting terrorist organization that began this war”.
Meanwhile, #Blinken’s commentary was considerably more measured. In an interview with CBS’s Face the Nation, the Joe Biden White House’s top diplomat said it is “reasonable to assess that in certain instances Israel acted in ways that are⭐️ not consistent” with international humanitarian laws.
Blinken’s comments on Sunday came after #Biden threatened to ⭐️stop supplying Israel with weapons if it invaded Rafah.
That came as the White House said the US had stopped the transfer of 3,500 high payload “dumb” bombs over concerns of the growing number of civilian casualties in Gaza.
Blinken stopped short of explicitly accusing Israel of violating international law as it pursued its offensive against the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
He said it was “critical” to note that Israel itself has accountability processes – and there were hundreds of active inquiries as well as criminal investigations into different incidents, showing Israel had “the ability, means and the actions to self-correct.
“It had been very difficult to determine, particularly in the midst of war, exactly what happened and to draw final conclusions from any one incident,” he said, adding that the US was avoiding any firm assessment over a potential breach because Hamas “hides behind as well as underneath civilian populations, in schools and hospitals”.
US threatens to block more arms sales if assault on Rafah goes ahead
The US may block more weapons systems to Israel if it goes ahead with a ground offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has said.
The US has already suspended the shipment of 3,500 2,000lb (907kg) and 500lb (227kg) high-payload bombs following concerns over the scale of civilian casualties in Israel’s war in the territory.
Blinken also said he was concerned that any further ground captured by Israel would create a vacuum “that’s likely to be filled by chaos, by anarchy, and ultimately by Hamas again”.
Sanders hits back at Netanyahu: ‘It is not antisemitic to hold you accountable’ | Bernie Sanders | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/27/bernie-sanders-benjamin-netanyahu-israel-gaza-war “No Mr Netanyahu, it is not antisemitic or pro-Hamas to point out that, in a little over six months, your extremist government has killed over 34,000 Palestinians and wounded more than 78,000, 70% of whom are women and children,” Sanders said.
US Senator Bernie #Sanders criticized the #Biden administration after reports emerged of the #US providing Israel with more bombs that were responsible for killing thousands of innocent Palestinians in #Gaza.
#Sanders Introduces Resolution to Investigate Israel’s Indiscriminate #Bombing Campaign in #Gaza
With nearly 19,000 people #killed and more than 50,000 wounded in Gaza since October 7 – seventy percent of whom are women and children – Sen. #Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) Thursday introduced a resolution under Section 502B(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act to force a debate on the indiscriminate bombing being carried out by Prime Minister #Netanyahu right-wing government.
Sen. Bernie Sanders opposes giving Israel $10 billion in aid
The White House has called on Congress to approve aid to Israel and Ukraine, but Republicans oppose any measure that excludes provisions to address security on the U.S.-Mexico border.
Sens. Chris #Murphy, Bernie #Sanders Come Out In Support of Conditions On U.S. Aid to #Israel
The Connecticut Democrat joined his Vermont colleague Sunday, calling the levels of civilian harm in #Gaza “unacceptable” and “unsustainable.”
The Democrat, sits on the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, confirmed that attaching strings to the House-approved $14.3 billion aid package to Israel is in the mix when Congress returns from Thanksgiving recess on Monday.
Bernie Sanders says Congress can’t pass Israel spending until bombing stops
“There is a horrific humanitarian disaster in Gaza. Israel must stop the bombing now and allow for massive amounts of humanitarian aid, including fuel, to reach those who need it,” Sanders posted on X.
“Congress cannot pass a supplemental spending bill that allows these actions to continue.”
Sanders has failed to call for a ceasefire in Gaza despite intense pressure from US progressives. @palestine #Israel #Sanders
After failed bid to crack down on price gougers last year, #Schumer, #Klobuchar, #Warren, #Sanders want new probe of huge #Exxon & #Chevron oil deals that could lead to higher gas prices, harm to operators, and depress wages.
Exxon's & Chevron's vertically integrated operations may harm smaller competitors. Both announced huge profits from strong energy prices since #Russia's invasion of #Ukraine. The oil deals could supercharge both companies' outsized political power.
Sanders Blocks GOP Push to Make US Humanitarian Aid to Gaza Impossible
"While we do our best to support Israel and destroy Hamas, please, let us not turn our back on the suffering people in Gaza."
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders on Wednesday blocked passage of Republican legislation that he warned would worsen the humanitarian crisis in the #Gaza Strip, which has been bombarded by Israeli forces for the past 12 days in retaliation for a major Hamas attack.
The #UAW are on #strike against the #BigThree#automakers. #Biden should be roaring his full-throated support for the strike. Doing so would be both just and shrewd. But instead, the #WhiteHouse is waffling...and if recent history is any indication, they might actually come out against the strike.
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Bernie Sanders to UAW Rally: “We Refuse to Live in an Oligarchy”
“every worker, white collar, blue collar, in between, has got to stand with the UAW in your struggle for justice”
The fight you are waging here is not just about decent wages and working conditions and pensions in the automobile industry. It is a fight to take on corporate greed and to tell the people on top, this country belongs to all of us, not just a few
#HuckaBS#Arkansas “Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed law restricting release of her travel & security records after Legislature wrapped up special session marked by a fight to more broadly scale back state Freedom of Information Act.
American support for #unions is at its highest level in generations, from 70% (general population) to 88% (Millenials) - and yet, American unionization rates are pathetic.
That's about to change.
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But the progressive, #Sanders/#Warren wing of the party installed some fantastically competent, hard-charging, principled fighters, who are chapter-and-verse on their regulatory authority and have the courage to use that authority:
#Bernie#Sanders Champions '32-Hour Work Week With No Loss in Pay'
"Needless to say, changes that benefit the working class of our country are not going to be easily handed over by the corporate elite. They have to be fought for—and won."
As part of his Labor Day message to workers in the United States, Sen. Bernie Sanders on Monday re-upped his call for the establishment of a 20% cut to the workweek with no loss in pay—an idea he said is "not radical"