Sanders pushes harder for Gaza cease-fire: ‘Not another nickel for Netanyahu’

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is pushing harder for a cease-fire in Gaza and demands that the United States send “not another nickel” to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“My view, not another nickel for Netanyahu’s government if he’s going to continue this wholesale slaughter of the Palestinian people,” Sanders told MSNBC’s Alex Wagner Friday.

Sanders’ declaration comes just days after the death toll in Gaza surpassed 30,000 people since the start of the war on Oct. 7, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. More than 100 Palestinians in Gaza City were killed and more than 700 injured Thursday, when Israeli soldiers opened fire on the people scrambling to access humanitarian aid, some media outlets reported.

Sanders, who recently voted against sending more aid to Israel for its war against Hamas, stressed the importance of stopping the “unprecedented humanitarian disaster.”

The Vermont senator argued that President Biden, who has put pressure on Netanyahu and Israel to scale back its attacks, is taking “an important step forward,” but argues that “we need to do more.” Biden said Friday that the U.S. will begin airdrops of aid to Gaza amid negotiations for a cease-fire.

Sanders said Biden should be telling the Israeli government to open borders so trucks of food, water and medical supplies that are critical to the more than 1 million refugees in the region can be delivered.

During the interview, Sanders said that “it’s totally absurd” that the United States is sending humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza, but also supplying Israel with the funds and military capabilities to hurt those civilians.

He said the recent protest vote, where more than 100,000 people in the Michigan primary voted for “uncommitted” instead of Biden, shows the White House that there are large numbers of young voters, minority voters and others “who are sick and tired of the slaughter of the Palestinian people.”

“Again, this is not some distant thing. This is with our tax dollars. Those guns and those planes are largely, or significantly, are paid for by U.S. tax dollars,” Sanders said, in a clip highlighted by Mediaite. “I mean, we cannot continue to support this right-wing extremist government. No more money.”