Bernie Sanders: 'Palestinian lives matter'
Senator Bernie Sanders has called for a more even-handed US approach to Israelis and Palestinians, calling on the administration of President Joe Biden to push for an "immediate ceasefire" in Gaza.
In a column published in the New York Times on Friday, Sanders criticised the traditional US stance of asserting "Israel's right to defend itself" while ignoring the human rights of Palestinians.
Sanders rebuked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over stoking racism and denounced the campaign to displace Palestinian families from East Jerusalem.
"Israel remains the one sovereign authority in the land of Israel and Palestine, and rather than preparing for peace and justice, it has been entrenching its unequal and undemocratic control," he wrote.
The senator, who came close to winning the Democratic nomination with a progressive platform during his presidential run last year, remains a top figure in the left wing of the Democratic Party.
"In the Middle East, where we provide nearly $4 billion a year in aid to Israel, we can no longer be apologists for the right-wing Netanyahu government and its undemocratic and racist behavior," Sanders said.
"We must change course and adopt an even-handed approach, one that upholds and strengthens international law regarding the protection of civilians, as well as existing US law holding that the provision of US military aid must not enable human rights abuses."
He added that the US must be consistent in order to be a credible voice on human rights globally.
"We must recognize that Palestinian rights matter. Palestinian lives matter."