Bernie Sanders Tells CNN He Will Boycott Netanyahu Speech to Congress: ‘Has Done Such Horrific Things to the Palestinian People’
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) told CNN he would boycott an address by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Congress on Wednesday, calling the bipartisan invitation “a terrible idea.”
Reacting to House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-LA) decision to invite Netanyahu to Congress, just days after the International Criminal Court (ICC) sought a warrant for Netanyahu’s arrest on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, Sanders said, “I think it’s a terrible idea. No, I won’t go.”
He told CNN host Kaitlan Collins:
Look, you have a prime minister who has created the worst humanitarian disaster in modern history. Israel, of course, had the right to defend itself against the Hamas terrorist attack, but what Netanyahu has done is go to war against – all out war – against the entire Palestinian people, women and children. 5% of the population is now dead or wounded. 60% of them are women and children. Some 200,000 housing units have been completely destroyed. Every university in Gaza has been bombed. There is now imminent starvation taking place. So why you would invite somebody who has done such horrific things to the Palestinian people is something that I think is a very bad idea.
After Collins pointed out, “It’s not just Speaker Mike Johnson. Senator [Chuck] Schumer is on board with this,” Sanders replied that he “strongly” disagreed with Schumer over the invitation.
Watch above via CNN.
