American Politician Bernie Sanders condemned devastation in Gaza by Israeli forces, in a tweet yesterday.
He stated that it is illegal for the US to support human rights violations, and that the country must take a “hard look” at the military aid it provides to Israel.
Earlier Sanders had tweeted that the US government was obligated to speak against the violence carried out by government-allied Israeli extremists, and make it clear that evictions of Palestinian families should be stopped.
The devastation in Gaza is unconscionable. We must urge an immediate ceasefire. The killing of Palestinians and Israelis must end. We must also take a hard look at nearly $4 billion a year in military aid to Israel. It is illegal for U.S. aid to support human rights violations.
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) May 16, 2021
Others from within the Democrat fold, also criticised US President Biden for his unwavering support to Israel. Democratic reps such as Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and Ilhan Omar have joined in on the criticisms towards Biden specifically, for his public and continued support to Israeli occupation of Palestine.
Cortez criticised Biden’s statement on Israel having the right to “defend its rights”, by highlighting how such statements dehumanise Palestinians and look the other way from forced evictions, bombings, and loss of countless Palestinian lives.
Blanket statements like these w/ little context or acknowledgement of what precipitated this cycle of violence – namely, the expulsions of Palestinians and attacks on Al Aqsa – dehumanize Palestinians & imply the US will look the other way at human rights violations. It’s wrong. https://t.co/afCgoGdiMG
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 12, 2021
Additionally, Saleh Hijazi, regional director at Amnesty International Middle East and North Africa, called for the International Criminal Court to look into the bombing of the news offices in Gaza, calling the bombing a “war crime”. He added that the organisation has opened a case in the ICC, “on the situation in the Palestinian Territories since 2014”.
Currently the US provides 3.8 million dollars to Israel, yearly. This comes to around to 20 percent of Israel’s military budget and 3/5th of the US global military financing.
The violence escalated in Palestine on 6 May 2021, regarding the planned evictions of people from their homes in the town of Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem. Protests began in Sheikh Jarrah, but spread to other parts of the West Bank, leading to clashes with Israeli forces, where reports have come in regarding crowds throwing rocks at Israeli forces.
Protests against the evictions and the subsequent violence against the Palestinians have spread across the globe.