US Senator Bernie Sanders has urged his Democratic colleagues to pull more than $10 billion in military aid to Israel from an upcoming spending bill, arguing that the money would make Washington complicit in Israel’s “immoral” war in Gaza.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced on Monday that he would put a $106 billion spending bill to a vote on Wednesday. Requested by President Joe Biden, the bill includes $10.1 billion in direct military aid to Israel, more than $61 billion for Ukraine, and $13.6 for border protection at home.

“I do not believe we should be appropriating over $10 billion for the right-wing extremist Netanyahu government to continue its current military approach,” Sanders said in a speech on the Senate floor on Monday, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"What the Netanyahu government is doing is immoral, it is in violation of international law, and the United States should not be complicit in those actions,”Sanders continued.

Israeli forces began bombarding Gaza in early October, in response to a surprise attack on the Jewish state by Hamas, a Palestinian militant group. Israeli tanks and troops were sent into Gaza three weeks later, and with fighting raging once again after a weeklong ceasefire at the end of November, more than 16,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the latest figures from the Gaza Health Ministry. More than 7,000 of those killed were children, the ministry said on Tuesday.

Hamas’ attack on Israel left around 1,200 dead and around 240 captured as hostages.

Sanders, who is Jewish, refused to join some of his progressive colleagues in demanding a ceasefire last month. He has also endorsed the provision of some military aid to Israel, saying on Monday that “it is appropriate for us to support defense systems that will protect Israeli citizens from incoming missile and rocket attacks.”

However, Israel’s “indiscriminate approach” to the war is, “in my view, offensive to most Americans,”he added.

Sanders did not say for sure whether he would vote against the entire $106 billion package. If Sanders and every single Senate Republican were to vote against the bill, Democrats could still pass it by making use of Vice President Kamala Harris’ tie-breaking vote.

However, the bill will face much stiffer opposition in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. With a growing number of conservatives categorically opposed to further aid to Ukraine and demanding an end to Biden’s lax border policies, House Speaker Mike Johnson told Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young on Monday that “supplemental Ukraine funding is dependent upon enactment of transformative change to our nation’s border security laws,” and on the White House providing “clearly defined and obtainable objectives” for the conflict in Ukraine.

https://www.rt.com/news/588571-bernie-sanders-israel-aid/

MEANWHILE:

A classified, high-stakes US Senate briefing on Ukraine has spiraled out of control, with some Republicans storming out of the meeting, fuming over Democrats’ perceived reluctance to cut a deal on aid to Kiev by making concessions on tighter immigration controls.

Tuesday’s closed-door meeting, which was attended by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, and several other top US officials, was supposed to focus on a $111 billion security package backed by the Democrats. The measure included aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, as well as addressing US border security.

The briefing got off to a rocky start, however, when Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, who was scheduled to participate online, failed to do so due to a “last-minute” snag.

According to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Republican leader Mitch McConnell attempted to “hijack” the agenda by asking a fellow party member to present the GOP’s proposals on border security instead of questioning Biden officials about Ukraine aid.

When the Democrats objected, one of the Republicans “was disrespectful and started screaming at one of the generals and challenging him to why they didn’t go to the border,” Schumer said.

When it finally came to Ukraine aid, some Republican lawmakers called the discussions a “waste of time,”claiming that Biden officials provided generic and repetitive answers. Several GOP members – including staunch supporters of Kiev – stormed out of the meeting.

“People got up and walked out because this is a waste of time… They just said ‘This isn’t worth it, this is a joke, you’re not serious about this,’” GOP Senator Kevin Cramer said.

Commenting on the tumultuous briefing, Republican Senator Mitt Romney remarked that “we want to help Ukraine and Israel, but we have got to have the Democrats recognize that the trade here, the deal is we stop the open border.”

Washington’s assistance to Ukraine has been hampered by congressional gridlock for several weeks now, with a senior State Department official warning that the US is “at the bottom of the barrel when it comes to our ability to provide security assistance to Ukraine,” amid fears of a “very difficult winter.”

Meanwhile, Andrey Yermak, Zelensky’s chief of staff, warned that delays in the US assistance could lead to the defeat of Ukraine by Russia.

https://www.rt.com/news/588601-chaos-senate-briefing-ukraine-aid/

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