By Diyar Guldogan
WASHINGTON (AA) - A US senator said Thursday that there is "now no justification" for Israel to continue its war in the Gaza Strip after the Israeli killing of the leader of Hamas.
"There is now no justification for Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu and his extremist government to continue their all-out war against the Palestinian people, which has killed 42,000 Palestinians and injured 100,000 – two-thirds of whom are women, children, and the elderly," Bernie Sanders said in a statement.
"There is no justification" for continuing to deny humanitarian aid, to destroy the housing, health care, infrastructure and for further delaying a hostage deal and a cease-fire in the besieged enclave, he said. "And there is absolutely no justification for continued U.S. support for Netanyahu’s horrific policies, which are in clear violation of U.S. and international law.”
Referring to legislation he introduced last month to block the sale of more than $20 billion in US arms to Israel, Sanders said the Senate will be voting on the Joint Resolutions of Disapproval (JRD) when it reconvenes in November.
"We must end our complicity in this cruel and illegal war," he added.
The statement came after Israeli army spokesperson Avichae Adree announced the killing of Yahya Sinwar in Gaza earlier Thursday.
Sinwar became Hamas’ political chief in August, succeeding Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated in the Iranian capital of Tehran after he attended the swearing-in ceremony of Iran’s new president on July 31.