- Sen. Bernie Sanders says President Joe Biden needs to be tougher on Israel amid the war in Gaza.
- Sanders admonished Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu, who recently promised "nobody will stop us."
Sen. Bernie Sanders wants President Joe Biden to speak louder in support of Palestinians in Gaza — or risk his reelection.
"The president has got to change course. He has been very clear. He has expressed his concern about 'indiscriminate bombing.' He has asked Netanyahu over and over again to change course," Sanders told CNN on Sunday.
But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not changed course. On the 100th day of fighting in Gaza, Netanyahu defiantly issued a statement saying, "Nobody will stop us — not The Hague, not the axis of evil, and not anybody else."
On CNN, Sanders called it "unacceptable."
Since war between Israel and Hamas broke out on October 7, many progressives have had to walk a tightrope, balancing longtime loyalty to Israel with a younger generation of American constituents who are sympathetic to the Palestinians and are want an immediate, permanent cease-fire.
"We will see what happens in November because the choice is pretty clear," Sanders told CNN. "There is no question. It is very hard for young people — I think for most Americans — to be excited about what is going on right now."
The US senator from Vermont, who is Jewish and whose Polish ancestors were killed by the Nazis, has long advocated for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
In the weeks after Hamas launched its surprise attack on Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and kidnapping hundreds of others, Sanders at first rejected the idea of a permanent cease-fire. As Israel's scorched-earth response to the Hamas attacks wore on, and after backlash from his supporters, Sanders has become more critical of Israel, as well as US support for its longtime ally in the Middle East.
In a recent interview with The Guardian, Sanders described the conflict in Gaza as a "mass atrocity."
"If there are any people that have suffered, it's Jewish people. And they should not be imposing that type of suffering on Palestinian children," Sanders told the outlet. "Killing children is not the solution."
Israel's retaliation has killed nearly 24,000 Palestinians — including about 10,000 children, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Another 60,000 Palestinians have been reported injured, thousands of homes destroyed, and over 2 million people displaced.
"You cannot give billions of dollars to a country that ignores your wishes and violates international law," Sanders told CNN. "I would hope that the president follows through on his concerns and says to Netanyahu, 'This is unacceptable. You're not getting a nickel more from the United States unless you radically change course. We're not going to see hundreds and hundreds of thousands of children starve to death.'"