We continue to be dismayed by the mantra of the left, holding Israel responsible for the current dire state of affairs of the Palestinian civilians of Gaza. Some make passing reference to the Hamas atrocities of October 7 as having precipitated the current conflict and that Israel had a right to make war against Hamas. However, incongruously, they invariably lapse into how Israel’s response, which targets and is calculated to defeat Hamas, constitute war crimes because civilians are collaterally harmed.
This is a rather obvious departure from the common understanding of the rules of war. Various members of the Biden administration even lauded Israel’s largely unprecedented efforts to avoid civilian casualties, as their boss, President Joe Biden, was disparaging them. And further, it is incontestable that Hamas positioned its weapons, and continues to operate from civilian areas and uses civilians as human shields.
Moreover, Hamas also continues to intentionally hold and use Israeli and American hostages as bargaining chips. Yet that ongoing outrageous human trafficking is not cited by Sanders as bearing on Hamas’s responsibility for the situation in Gaza. But Israel’s inadvertent causing of collateral harm to civilians is.
We note that last week the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly (83-15) voted down two resolutions proposed by progressive Senator Bernie Sanders designed to block U.S. weapons transfers to Israel. Here is what Sanders told the President of the Senate as he introduced his resolutions:
Mr. President, I trust that every American – and certainly every member of the Senate – understands that Hamas, a terrorist organization, began this terrible war with its barbaric October 7, 2023, attack on Israel… Clearly, Israel had the right to defend itself against Hamas. But most Americans also understand that while Israel had a right to wage war against Hamas, it did not and does not have the right to wage war against the entire Palestinian population. Tragically, that is exactly what we have seen over the last year and a half.
Mr. President, if we condone the barbarism that is taking place in Gaza today, we will have no standing in the world to condemn the horrors and war crimes that other countries may commit… Mr. President, today is the day to stand up to barbarism in Gaza and to do our best to prevent future barbaric acts all over the world.
The illogic is stunning. Can Sanders really be heard to say that the aggressor can limit the victim’s response simply by purposefully placing civilians in harm’s way? Surely not. But that seems to be Sander’s position and 15% of the United States Senate agrees with him. Amazing!
Unfortunately, Sanders does not have to worry too much about reelection. He was last elected in 2024.
