US can no longer be complicit in this horrific tragedy: Sen. Sanders

WASHINGTON

Sen. Bernie Sanders called for the US to end its military support to the Israeli government on Tuesday, accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration of committing atrocities in the Gaza Strip.

Sanders said Israel had the "absolute right" to defend itself and go after the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, in a statement marking the second year of the Israeli war in Gaza.

"Tragically, however, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and his extremist government did not simply go to war against Hamas terrorists. Instead, they unleashed an all-out war against the entire Palestinian people. The horrors of that war cannot be overstated," Sanders added.

In a population of 2.2 million, he said more than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 170,000 have been injured.

He blamed Israel’s blockade for causing starvation and further humanitarian catastrophe, and expressed support for the International Criminal Court's (ICC) indictments of Israeli leaders, including Netanyahu, for war crimes.

"The United States can no longer be complicit in this horrific tragedy. We must stop providing military support to the Netanyahu government.

"We must secure a lasting ceasefire that stops the killing, brings the remaining hostages home, allows for a massive surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza and provides Palestinians with a path towards a state of their own," he added.