US Senator Bernie Sanders said he will push for a vote next week on resolutions that would block the sale of $8.8 billion worth of arms to Israel. of Israel, citing the human rights crisis facing Palestinians in Gaza following Israel's bombing of the enclave and the cessation of aid deliveries, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
"(Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu has clearly violated American and international law in this brutal war, and we must end our complicity in the bloodshed," Sanders, an independent but allied with Democrats, announced his plan.
More than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's Gaza campaign, Palestinian officials say. It began after thousands of Hamas-led gunmen attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, Reuters notes.
A decades-long tradition of strong bipartisan support for Israel in the U.S. Congress means that resolutions to halt arms sales to the country are unlikely to pass, but supporters hope that raising the issue will encourage the Israeli and U.S. governments to do more to protect civilians in the Palestinian enclave, Reuters notes.
Former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant told the Meir Dagan conference at the Netanya Academic College that he is concerned that Netanyahu may put his political priorities first and continue the war to destroy "Hamas" before making a deal to return the remaining 59 hostages, 22-24 of whom are still alive, the "Jerusalem Post" reported.
Galant said there is no doubt that returning the hostages should take priority over destroying "Hamas", especially given that the threat level posed by the terrorist group in Gaza has already been greatly reduced.
The former defense minister said that Netanyahu failed to make a deal in the summer of 2024. for the return of the hostages when there was an opportunity.
At the same time, Gallant noted that he supports the current renewal of the invasion of Gaza, saying that "Hamas" would only make a reasonable deal under strong military pressure.
However, Gallant spoke out against a prolonged military occupation of Gaza.
""The only way is to replace the political rule of "Hamas" in Gaza," the former minister stressed. He said that Palestinian groups that oppose "Hamas", together with the support of moderate Sunnis, are the only way to replace the political rule of "Hamas" in Gaza.
While he doesn't mention the Palestinian Authority or "Arab peacekeeping forces", Gallant has been making it clear for several months or more that this is the direction he believes Gaza should take.