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April 14, 2018

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Bernie Sanders Initiates Congressional Letter Urging Trump to Change Gaza Policy In Light of Protests

The senator writes that Gaza’s ‘lack of power’ and other humanitarian basics ‘exacerbates’ tensions – and gives Hamas excuse to ‘incite violence against Israel’

Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks on a question during a town hall in Jackson, Mississippi on April 4, 2018.
Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks on a question during a town hall in Jackson, Mississippi on April 4, 2018.Rogelio V. Solis/AP 

WASHINGTON – Senator Bernie Sanders is circulating a letter among members of Congress urging the Trump administration to take steps to improve the humanitarian and economic conditions in Gaza in light of the recent violence on the Israel-Gaza border.

The letter, which could be sent to the U.S. State Department as early as next week, comes as a growing number of Democratic lawmakers in Washington, including Sanders, are criticizing Israel’s response to the protests.

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Since the “March of Return” protests on the Israel-Gaza border began two weeks ago, 34 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire.

The letter, which began circulating Friday, states that Gaza’s “lack of power, clean water, adequate medical care and other necessities not only exacerbates the hardships faced by Gaza’s population, but redounds to the benefit of extremist groups who use this deprivation and despair to incite violence against Israel.”

It also quotes a UN report published in 2012 that estimated that, “if current trends continued, Gaza would become unlivable,” and a subsequent report from last year that said, “that day might have already come… water pollution is among the factors causing a dramatic increase in kidney problems among Gaza’s population.”