Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders on Sunday accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of "ethnic cleansing" of Palestinians in Gaza, and said he "has got to be held accountable" for the casualties there.

During an appearance on CNN's "State of the Union," Sanders, who is Jewish, declined to say if he thought Israel was committing genocide, saying that's "something that is being determined by the International Court of Justice."

But he added: "This is what I will say: I don't think there's any doubt that what Netanyahu is doing now. Displacing 80% of the population in Gaza is ethnic cleansing," he said. "That's what it is, pushing out huge numbers of people."

Bernie Sanders: "Our job is to condemn Hamas, a terrorist organization that started this war, condemn in every form antisemitism, islamophobia, and other forms of bigotry. But we do have to pay attention to the unprecedented humanitarian disaster taking place in Gaza right now." pic.twitter.com/Rs27n5M2Tt

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 28, 2024

 

The Independent senator also emphasized that the situation created by Netanyahu was "in terms of a humanitarian disaster, unprecedented in modern American history."

In just over six months "5% of the population has been killed or wounded, two-thirds of whom are women and children," Sanders said. "And Netanyahu has got to be held accountable for those actions."

More than 34,000 Palestinians in Gaza have reportedly been killed by Israel since Hamas launched a series of surprise attacks on Oct. 7 killing about 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapping about 250, more than 130 of whom have yet to be released.

"If you look at the polling, the vast majority of the American people are disgusted with Netanyahu's war machine in Gaza. And they do not want further U.S. military aid to his government," said Sanders.

When host Dana Bash brought up the antisemitism expressed by some pro-Palestinian protesters on American college campuses, Sanders said, "I'm Jewish, all right?"

"My father's family was wiped out by Hitler. Antisemitism is a disgusting and vile form of bigotry which has killed millions of people," he said. "I would hope that every American condemns antisemitism. We condemn Islamophobia and all forms of bigotry."

Sanders repeated his assertion last week that "what Netanyahu is trying to do, very clearly, is to say, 'Anybody who criticizes what Israel is doing, you are antisemitic.'"

He added: "But here is the reality: Right now, what Netanyahu's right-wing, extremist and racist government is doing is unprecedented in the modern history of warfare. They have killed, in the last six and a half months, 33,000 Palestinians, wounded 77,000, two-thirds of whom are women and children."

The Israeli military has "destroyed over 60% of the housing. They have destroyed the health care system. They have destroyed the infrastructure. — no electricity, very little water. And, right now, we are looking at the possibility of mass starvation and famine in Gaza," he said. "When you make those charges, that is not antisemitic."