Bernard Sanders, VT
“I want the Senate to pass this resolution. Israel's government has killed tens of thousands of people in Gaza and destroyed its cities. Israeli settlers and soldiers are also attacking Palestinians and killing American citizens in the West Bank. American tax dollars pay for these weapons, and our laws say we cannot send military aid to countries that commit gross human rights violations. We must stop sending military aid to Israel.”
“Mr. President, today the Senate will vote on an important resolution introduced by Senator Van Hollen--and I thank him for his work on this--introduced by myself and more than 20 of our colleagues. In January 2024, I introduced the first 502B resolution on Israel that received 11 votes. I have a feeling that we are going to get a lot more votes tonight. And the reason for that is that as the American people observe what is going on in Gaza, what is going on in the West Bank, they are becoming more and more disgusted and are demanding that the U.S. Congress act. My own view? No more military aid to the genocidal government of Netanyahu. The resolution that we are debating tonight concerns the escalating violence in the occupied West Bank and the killing of American citizens there with zero repercussions. But we cannot talk about the West Bank without talking about what has gone on in Gaza. For nearly 3 years, the world has watched the Netanyahu government wage a genocide in Gaza. It has now killed at least 74,000 Palestinians, most of whom are women and children. It has wounded over 170,000 Palestinians. In other words, more than 10 percent of the population of Gaza has either been killed or wounded in less than 3 years. But it is not just the massive attack on human life that we have observed. In this 3-year period, Israel has laid waste to the territory of Gaza and has almost completely destroyed the infrastructure there. It has destroyed homes, hospitals, schools, and water systems, and it has used starvation as a weapon of war. Cities like Rafah have been reduced to rubble. Leading human rights organizations--including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the Israeli group B’Tselem--have concluded that what is happening in Gaza is a genocide. Senior members of the Israeli Government have said openly that they want Palestinians out of Gaza. And even under a so-called cease-fire, the killing has not stopped; well over a thousand more people have been killed. Much of this has been done with American bombs and American taxpayer dollars, which is why Congress must end all taxpayer support and aid for this genocidal government. And while the world’s attention has been on Gaza, this same government has been carrying out a slower but no less brutal campaign in the West Bank. As of last month, the U.N.--the United Nations--has documented more than 1,400 incidents of settler violence this year alone, affecting some 260 Palestinian communities. The U.N. says this violence has reached unprecedented levels. Settlers cut villagers off from their wells and their orchards. They burn homes and cars. They beat people who cannot defend themselves. And too often, Israeli security forces stand by or even join in. Families who have farmed the same land for generations are being driven out. Former Israeli generals have called it what it is: ethnic cleansing. Meanwhile, the Netanyahu government keeps expanding illegal settlements, including the E1 project designed to cut the West Bank in two. And the Trump administration, rather than confronting this violence, has lifted sanctions on violent settlers. This violence does not even spare American citizens. Since January of 2022, nine Americans have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli settlers or security forces. Not one of those killings has led to real accountability. This resolution is also about Palestinian children in Israeli military detention. Last year, Save the Children surveyed 165 children who had been held by Israeli authorities: 99 percent reported physical assault; 94 percent reported being denied medical care. These are children. For some 50 years, the Foreign Assistance Act has said that U.S. military assistance cannot go to a government that engages in a consistent pattern of gross violations of human rights. Section 502B(c) of that law gives Congress the right to ask the State Department for information on the human rights record of any country receiving our aid. Enough is enough. The United States cannot continue to bankroll this violence and look the other way, whether in Gaza or in the West Bank. It is time to end our complicity. I urge a ``yes’’ vote and thank Senator Van Hollen for his leadership.”
Mr. President, today the Senate will vote on an important resolution introduced by Senator Van Hollen--and I thank him for his work on this--introduced by myself and more than 20 of our colleagues. In January 2024, I introduced the first 502B resolution on Israel that received 11 votes. I have a feeling that we are going to get a lot more votes tonight. And the reason for that is that as the American people observe what is going on in Gaza, what is going on in the West Bank, they are becoming more and more disgusted and are demanding that the U.S. Congress act. My own view? No more military aid to the genocidal government of Netanyahu. The resolution that we are debating tonight concerns the escalating violence in the occupied West Bank and the killing of American citizens there with zero repercussions. But we cannot talk about the West Bank without talking about what has gone on in Gaza. For nearly 3 years, the world has watched the Netanyahu government wage a genocide in Gaza. It has now killed at least 74,000 Palestinians, most of whom are women and children. It has wounded over 170,000 Palestinians. In other words, more than 10 percent of the population of Gaza has either been killed or wounded in less than 3 years. But it is not just the massive attack on human life that we have observed. In this 3-year period, Israel has laid waste to the territory of Gaza and has almost completely destroyed the infrastructure there. It has destroyed homes, hospitals, schools, and water systems, and it has used starvation as a weapon of war. Cities like Rafah have been reduced to rubble. Leading human rights organizations--including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the Israeli group B’Tselem--have concluded that what is happening in Gaza is a genocide. Senior members of the Israeli Government have said openly that they want Palestinians out of Gaza. And even under a so-called cease-fire, the killing has not stopped; well over a thousand more people have been killed. Much of this has been done with American bombs and American taxpayer dollars, which is why Congress must end all taxpayer support and aid for this genocidal government. And while the world’s attention has been on Gaza, this same government has been carrying out a slower but no less brutal campaign in the West Bank. As of last month, the U.N.--the United Nations--has documented more than 1,400 incidents of settler violence this year alone, affecting some 260 Palestinian communities. The U.N. says this violence has reached unprecedented levels. Settlers cut villagers off from their wells and their orchards. They burn homes and cars. They beat people who cannot defend themselves. And too often, Israeli security forces stand by or even join in. Families who have farmed the same land for generations are being driven out. Former Israeli generals have called it what it is: ethnic cleansing. Meanwhile, the Netanyahu government keeps expanding illegal settlements, including the E1 project designed to cut the West Bank in two. And the Trump administration, rather than confronting this violence, has lifted sanctions on violent settlers. This violence does not even spare American citizens. Since January of 2022, nine Americans have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli settlers or security forces. Not one of those killings has led to real accountability. This resolution is also about Palestinian children in Israeli military detention. Last year, Save the Children surveyed 165 children who had been held by Israeli authorities: 99 percent reported physical assault; 94 percent reported being denied medical care. These are children. For some 50 years, the Foreign Assistance Act has said that U.S. military assistance cannot go to a government that engages in a consistent pattern of gross violations of human rights. Section 502B(c) of that law gives Congress the right to ask the State Department for information on the human rights record of any country receiving our aid. Enough is enough. The United States cannot continue to bankroll this violence and look the other way, whether in Gaza or in the West Bank. It is time to end our complicity. I urge a ``yes’’ vote and thank Senator Van Hollen for his leadership.