By Jonas E. Alexis, Senior Editor
\nVT<\/p>\n
Independent Vermont Sen.\u00a0Bernie Sanders<\/a>\u00a0repeated his calls on Sunday for the U.S. to cut off military aid to the far-right government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as it continues its devastating war on\u00a0Gaza.<\/a><\/p>\n Sanders spoke on\u00a0NBC\u2019s\u00a0<\/em>\u201cMeet the Press\u201d in response to a U.S. State Department report\u00a0released<\/a>\u00a0Friday, which found that it was \u201creasonable to assess\u201d that\u00a0Israel<\/a>\u00a0had used U.S. weapons to violate international humanitarian law in Gaza but that the U.S. was \u201cnot able to reach definitive conclusions\u201d as to whether U.S. weapons had been used in any specific incidents.<\/p>\n \u201cAny objective observer knows Israel has broken international law, it has broken American law, and, in my view, Israel should not be receiving another nickle in U.S. military aid,\u201d Sanders\u00a0said<\/a>.<\/p>\n Friday\u2019s report came in response to\u00a0National Security Memorandum 20<\/a>\u00a0(NSM-20), in which President Joe Biden tasked Secretary of State Antony Blinken with obtaining \u201ccertain credible and reliable written assurances from foreign governments\u201d that they use U.S. arms in line with international humanitarian law and will not \u201carbitrarily deny, restrict, or otherwise impede, directly or indirectly, the transport or delivery of United States humanitarian assistance.\u201d<\/p>\n The report, made to Congress, was criticized by human rights organizations who said it mischaracterized both the law and the facts in order to avoid imposing consequences on Israel for waging a war on Gaza that the International Court of Justice has\u00a0determined<\/a>\u00a0could plausibly amount to genocide.<\/p>\n \u201cThe people of our country do not want to be complicit in the starvation of hundreds of thousands of children.\u201d<\/p>\n Amanda Klasing,\u00a0Amnesty International<\/a>\u00a0USA\u2019s national director of government relations and advocacy,\u00a0called it<\/a>\u00a0the \u201cinternational version of \u2018thoughts and prayers.\u2019\u201d Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.)\u00a0called<\/a>\u00a0it \u201cwoefully inadequate\u201d and told reporters, \u201cIf this conduct complies with international standards, God help us all.\u201d<\/p>\n Speaking before Sanders on \u201cMeet the Press,\u201d Blinken\u00a0denied<\/a>\u00a0that the report was an attempt to get out of holding Israel accountable.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat the report concludes is that, based on the totality of the harm that\u2019s been done to children, to women, to men who are caught in this crossfire of Hamas\u2019 making, it\u2019s reasonable to conclude that there are instances where Israel has acted in ways that are not consistent with international humanitarian law,\u201d Blinken said.<\/p>\n He added that both Israel and the U.S. would continue to investigate those incidents.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we can reach definitive conclusions, we will,\u201d Blinken said, \u201cbut it\u2019s very difficult to do that in the midst of a war.\u201d<\/p>\n In response to Blinken\u2019s remarks, Sanders countered that \u201cthe facts are quite clear.\u201d<\/p>\n He said that Hamas was a \u201cterrible, disgusting terrorist organization\u201d and blamed it for starting the war. But he argued that Israel\u2019s response had been beyond disproportionate.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat Israel has done over the last seven months is not just gone to war against Hamas\u2014it has gone to war against the entire Palestinian people, and the results have been absolutely catastrophic,\u201d the senator told\u00a0NBC.<\/em><\/p>\n Sanders went on to outline some of that catastrophe: a death toll that\u00a0surpassed<\/a>\u00a035,000 on Sunday, with two-thirds of the dead women and children; the\u00a0destruction<\/a>\u00a0of around 60% of all housing; the devastation of infrastructure such a as water and sewage as well as the healthcare and education systems; and the fact that hundreds of thousands of children are now at risk of starvation.<\/p>\n Sanders referred to Section 6201 of the Foreign Assistance Act: \u201cAny country that blocks U.S. humanitarian aid is in violation of law and should not continue to receive military aid from the United States,\u201d Sanders explained. \u201cThat is precisely what Israel has done.\u201d<\/p>\n Sanders\u2019 remarks came as Israel escalated its assault on Gaza over the weekend, issuing new evacuation orders in both Rafah and areas in the north. Biden\u00a0has said<\/a>\u00a0that a major ground invasion into Rafah would be a \u201cred line\u201d and threatened to withhold certain kinds of weapons if Netanyahu ordered such an invasion, but Palestinian and human rights advocates say that Israel\u2019s current actions in Rafah should already count as a major ground operation.<\/p>\n Speaking on \u201cMeet the Press,\u201d Blinken\u00a0acknowledged<\/a>\u00a0that the U.S. had not seen a \u201ccredible plan\u201d from Israel to safely evacuate the more than 1.4 million civilians sheltering in Rafah ahead of an invasion.<\/p>\n