Sanders Calls Gaza Situation Genocide, Opposes U.S. Military Aid to Israel

WASHINGTON, United States — U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders criticized American support for Israel and called for fundamental changes to U.S. Middle East policy during a speech at the National Press Club in Washington on Thursday. Sanders, an independent from Vermont, described the situation in Gaza as genocide and said the United States should not fund the Israeli military. He stated that he opposes military aid to Israel in Congress and accused pro-Israel lobbying groups of pressuring American lawmakers to support such assistance. The senator also condemned the ongoing war with Iran, calling it unlawful and unconstitutional. He criticized U.S. relations with authoritarian governments in the region, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. On domestic policy, Sanders addressed economic inequality in the United States, noting that roughly 60 percent of citizens live paycheck to paycheck despite the country being the wealthiest. He called for tighter oversight of artificial intelligence companies and announced legislation requiring a 50 percent public ownership stake in large AI companies. Sanders criticized what he described as an oligarchic structure in American politics, arguing that wealth is concentrated among a small number of billionaires.