Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on Monday vehemently denounced the visit of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington, D.C., for a meeting with US President Donald Trump.
Sanders characterized the day as "a shameful day in America," citing the International Criminal Court's (ICC) issuance of arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged "war crimes."
While neither Israel nor the US are state parties of the ICC, Senator Sanders wrote, "Today, a war criminal under indictment from the ICC will be welcomed to the White House."
Sanders extended his criticism to both past and present US administrations, stating that "Trump, like Biden before him, has aided and abetted the extremist Netanyahu government as it has systematically killed and starved civilians in Gaza."
The Jewish legislator has been an outspoken opponent of Israel's actions during the ongoing conflict with Hamas in Gaza, which began after the October 7, 2023, terrorist attacks in southern Israel.
Last November, the US Senate voted against an effort by Sanders to block the sale of offensive weapons to Israel amid concerns over civilian casualties in Gaza.
In March, Sanders again initiated legislative efforts to halt $9 billion in arms sales to Israel. In this case as well, both resolutions were defeated in a Senate vote in April.
Sanders is one of Israel’s fiercest critics in Congress, having last year boycotted Netanyahu’s Congress speech while branding the Prime Minister a “war criminal”.
He has in the past referred to the Israeli government as “racist” and has advocated for the US to condition its aid to Israel.