‘I’m embarrassed’: Sanders calls on US to attach 'strings' to aid to Netanyahu regime

US Senator Bernie Sanders says he is “embarrassed” by the current far-right Israeli cabinet led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling on Washington to attach “some strings” to the annual financial and military assistance to the "racist" regime in Tel Aviv.

“I am very worried about what Netanyahu is doing and some of his allies in government and what may happen to the Palestinian people,” Sanders, an Independent from Vermont, said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday.

Since Netanyahu rose to power again in December and formed what many call the most extreme cabinet ever in Tel Aviv, tens of thousands of Israelis have been taking to the streets every week to protest their radical agenda, including the so-called judicial reforms that critics say are intended to shield Netanyahu from prosecution over corruption charges.

The legal changes threaten the independence of judges and would weaken oversight of the ruling cabinet and parliament. They will also undermine the rights of minorities and open the door to more corruption, experts say.

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Tensions have also escalated across the occupied Palestinian territories as the new Israeli cabinet has ramped up army raids against Palestinians, while simultaneously expanding home demolitions and illegal settlements in their lands. The effects of these policies, human rights advocates have warned, will be catastrophic for millions of Palestinians living under occupation.

The treatment of the Palestinian people by the Israeli regime has increasingly become a foreign policy focus for some progressives in the US Congress, who have criticized Washington’s unconditional support for Israel, most specifically the billions of dollars the regime gets in aid every year. 

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“And let me tell you something, I mean, I haven't said this publicly,” Sanders said. “But I think the United States gives billions of dollars in aid to Israel. And I think we've got to put some strings attached to that and say you cannot run a racist government. You cannot turn your back on a two-state solution. You cannot demean the Palestinian people there. You just can't do it and then come to America and ask for money.”

Every 10 years, US administrations, with the support of Congress, sign a memorandum of understanding to guarantee the steady flow of financial and military assistance to the Israeli regime. The current agreement expires in 2028, and, given the rise of anti-Israel progressives on Capitol Hill, some expect that American aid to Israel to run into obstacles beyond that date.

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Already some members of Congress have challenged US assistance to Israel. In a rare move back in 2021, Rep. Thomas Massie, Republican of Kentucky, joined the growing chorus of anti-Israel progressives to vote against funding the regime’s Iron Dome missile system.

In the same year, Rep. Betty McCollum, Democrat of Minnesota, introduced legislation to condition aid to Israel, one of several recent bills aimed at restraining the regime’s hardcore policies toward Palestinians

“If a government is acting in a racist way, and they want billions of dollars from the taxpayers of the United States, I think you say, ‘Sorry, but it's not acceptable,’” Sanders said in his interview.

“I'm embarrassed that- that in Israel, you have a government of that nature right now.”

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