In a rare rebuke, Israel's Ambassador to the US, Michael Herzog, on Friday fired back at Senator Bernie Sanders after he criticized Israel's operation in Gaza.
Sanders wrote on X on Thursday, “The disaster in Gaza cannot continue. The world must act to save innocent lives. But just as a humanitarian response is critical, it is equally important to lay out a path to a two-state solution and a democratic Palestine. Israel cannot bomb its way to a long-term solution.”
In response, Herzog wrote, “Whoever wants to see a ‘democratic Palestine’, must support the defeat of Hamas.”
“16 years of Hamas' rule of Gaza, since taking over in a bloody coup, produced only misery for Gaza's citizens, tens of thousands of rockets fired at Israeli population centers (including nearly 9,000 since the beginning of this war), and numerous armed clashes with Israel - all culminating in the unimaginably atrocious terror attack on October 7,” added Ambassador Herzog.
“How exactly do you, Senator Sanders, propose to defeat these genocidal extremists - who hide behind innocent civilians and use them as human shields?” he concluded.
Sanders has been critical of Israel’s government in the past, referring to it as “racist” and suggesting there “should be strings attached” to the US military aid to Israel.
In 2019, Sanders caused an uproar when he told the J Street conference that the US should redirect its aid to Israel and give it to Gaza instead.
On Thursday, US Vice President Kamala Harris made clear that the US would not create any conditions for the aid it gives to Israel.
Speaking to reporters at the conclusion of her visit to London, Harris was asked whether the US should condition aid to Israel to get them to prioritize civilian harm reduction.
“We are going to continue to stand with Israel’s right to defend itself. And let’s be clear and never forget what happened on October 7th, where hundreds, thousands of — 1,400 innocent people were killed, slaughtered — young people who were simply attending a concert,” Harris replied.
“And so, we are not going to create any conditions on the support that we are giving Israel to defend itself,” she added.
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)