[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 119 (Tuesday, July 23, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5319-S5321]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                 ISRAEL

  Mr. WELCH. Madam President, in recent weeks, the attention of the 
American people has been on the rapidly evolving campaign for the 
Presidency issues. But while our national media and the focus have 
shifted, it is important that we do not lose sight of the crisis in 
Gaza, where innocent people have suffered one calamity after another.
  Also in recent weeks, thousands of defenseless, homeless people 
sheltering in schools, including one located in an area reportedly 
designated by the Israeli military as a humanitarian safe zone, have 
been targeted by the Israeli military with missiles supplied by the 
United States. Regrettably, scores have been killed, and hundreds have 
been wounded.
  What little is left of Gaza's demolished hospitals have no capacity 
to properly treat injuries. Children are particularly vulnerable in 
this conflict. Thousands of children have been killed. Thousands have 
sustained severe injuries that require surgery or advanced medical 
care, and many suffer from other life-threatening illnesses, like 
cancer, that are going completely untreated. In the past 9 months, only 
19 of these children have been allowed to leave Gaza, and that is 
shocking.
  Today, my colleagues and I sent a letter to the Ambassadors of Israel 
and Egypt calling on them to work together, with the full cooperation 
of the United States, so that these children can leave Gaza and get the 
medical care they desperately need, and I urge their governments to do 
that. Gaza's children have paid far too high a price in this war.
  Negotiations for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas have been on 
again and off again. Each time we hear of a possible breakthrough, one 
side or the other makes a new demand, and then weeks pass without 
further word of progress, and the suffering continues. I hope soon they 
will reach agreement on a cease-fire.
  In the meantime, it is hard to imagine the depth of misery suffered 
by the Palestinian people. It is also hard to imagine the depth of 
misery suffered by the hostages trapped underground for 9 months, 
subject to constant psychological and physical abuse by their captors.
  I have spoken many times about the war in Gaza. It was a war, in my 
view, poorly conceived, with vague goals that were nothing more than 
slogans--not unlike our own failed wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
  Prime Minister Netanyahu was warned not to repeat our mistakes, but 
instead of heeding that advice, he has pursued a scorched-earth 
strategy that has destroyed Gaza and killed tens of thousands of people 
who had absolutely nothing to do with the atrocities committed by Hamas 
on October 7. Two million destitute people are homeless, suffering from 
acute hunger, and facing the real possibility of death at any moment.
  Mr. Netanyahu and--I use this word intentionally--his extremist 
Ministers have divided the Israeli people, divided the American people, 
and damaged Israel's standing on the global stage.
  Mr. Netanyahu's war has been carried out with our war planes, our 
tanks, our guns, our bombs, missiles, and bullets. It has been carried 
out in a manner shockingly inconsistent with the principle of 
proportionality, a central element of international humanitarian law 
that is designed to protect the innocent--international law that Israel 
and the United States are both bound to respect.
  The counterresponse that we hear is that because Hamas fighters hide 
in tunnels and use civilian houses and buildings to carry out their 
attacks, anything is a legitimate target--even, apparently, if it means 
killing 50 Palestinians and wounding 100 in order to kill 1 Hamas 
combatant.
  Of course, Israel has the right to go after those involved in the 
October 7 attacks. I support that. Hamas mercilessly slaughtered 1,200 
innocent Israelis, and the perpetrators of those atrocities must not 
escape punishment. But that does not give Israel the right to use 
weapons supplied by the United States to kill 30 times the number of 
innocent Palestinians as though their lives are worth nothing. That is 
wrong.
  Meanwhile, in the West Bank, attacks against Palestinians by Israeli 
settlers--illegal Israeli settlers--have skyrocketed, and hundreds have 
been killed.
  Last week, the International Court of Justice ruled that Israel's 
decades-long occupation of the West Bank violates international law and 
amounts to annexation. The court called on Israel to cease new 
settlement activities, which

[[Page S5320]]

is also the policy of the United States, and called on it to end the 
occupation.
  As often happens, people's attention fades or shifts to other 
priorities close to home. That is understandable, but that is also why 
it is important to remember--to remember that the bombs keep falling, 
and an appalling number of civilians keep dying in Gaza in a war that 
has gone on far, far too long; to remember that this war, in which the 
United States is complicit by providing these arms, was orchestrated by 
a Prime Minister who has no strategy--no strategy--for peace between 
Israelis and Palestinians.
  A Prime Minister who has no vision for the future, who has acted 
deliberately to undercut U.S. policy at every turn, and still, he is 
invited here to this Congress.
  I will not be attending Prime Minister Netanyahu's address tomorrow. 
While I welcome a constructive discussion on how to end this conflict 
and achieve lasting peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians, I 
am not interested in participating in a political stunt.
  We, the United States, have a moral responsibility to do everything 
we can to help end this war and prevent further loss of innocent lives, 
and that includes holding our allies and partners to the same standards 
that we expect of ourselves and the rest of the world.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.
  Mr. SANDERS. Madam President, I want to commend my fellow Vermonter 
for his remarks. I wanted to say a few words on the same subject.
  Madam President, tomorrow, Wednesday, will be a unique moment in 
congressional history. Throughout the many years of our country, 
leaders from dozens of countries with all kinds of political 
backgrounds and persuasions have been invited to address a joint 
session of Congress. To the best of my knowledge, however, tomorrow 
will be unique. In bringing Prime Minister Netanyahu to address a joint 
meeting of Congress, it will be the first time in American history that 
a war criminal has been given that honor.
  Frankly, this invitation to Netanyahu is a disgrace and something 
that we will look back on with regret. With this invitation, it will be 
impossible, with a straight face, for the United States to lecture any 
country on Earth about human rights and human dignity.
  As you well know, along with the Hamas leader, Yahya Sinwar, and 
several others, Prime Minister Netanyahu has been credibly accused of 
war crimes by the International Criminal Court, the ICC. That Court may 
soon issue arrest warrants for Sinwar and Netanyahu.
  The case against Sinwar and his Hamas accomplices is clear. They were 
organizers of the horrific October 7 terrorist attack on Israel that 
began this war and involved the mass murder of 1,200 innocent men, 
women, and children, the taking of hostages, and sexual violence. These 
war crimes are well documented, and very few people would dispute the 
merits of these charges.
  The ICC's prosecutors' charges against Netanyahu are also well 
founded. The charges focus on the starvation of civilians as a method 
of war, as well as intentional attacks against the civilian population. 
Specifically, the prosecutor says that Netanyahu is responsible for 
``depriving [civilians] of objects indispensable to their survival, 
including willfully impeding relief supplies as provided for under the 
Geneva Conventions.''
  A separate U.N. independent Commission of Inquiry likewise found that 
both Hamas and the Israeli military have committed war crimes since 
October 7, leading to widespread civilian deaths. The Commission said 
the Israeli military's ``intentional use of heavy weapons with large 
destructive capacity in densely populated areas constitutes an 
intentional and direct attack on the civilian population, particularly 
affecting women and children.''
  I think we all agree that Israel had the right to defend itself 
against the horrific Hamas attack on October 7, but Netanyahu's 
extreme, rightwing government has, since that attack, waged what 
amounts to a total war--a total war--against the entire Palestinian 
people, making life unlivable in Gaza and killing tens of thousands. 
These actions have trampled on international law, on American law, and 
on basic human values.
  I understand that the mass media and many of us in Congress have been 
preoccupied in recent weeks with the awful assassination attempt 
against former President Trump and the changes at the top of the 
Democratic Presidential ticket. But while all that is going on, it is 
absolutely irresponsible for us to turn our backs on one of the worst 
humanitarian disasters in modern history, especially when that disaster 
has been aided and abetted by U.S. taxpayer dollars and weapons. In 
other words, it is not just the Israeli Government; it is us and our 
money and our weaponry as well.
  Let us be clear. Let us be very clear as to what is going on in Gaza 
right now. Since this war began, among a population of 2.2 million 
people, at least 39,000 Palestinians have been killed and 89,000 
injured--60 percent of whom are women, children, or elderly people. 
Most observers believe that the death toll is much higher because 
thousands of people remain buried under the mountains of rubble; their 
bodies have not yet been recovered.
  Some 1.9 million people, out of a population of 2.2 million, have 
been driven from their homes, 90 percent of the population. Take a deep 
breath--90 percent of the population driven from their homes. The vast 
majority of these desperate and poor people have now been displaced not 
once, not twice, but, in some cases, four or five times, herded around 
like cattle. Just yesterday--yesterday--Israel announced another 
evacuation order for Khan Yunis, and 150,000 people were forced to flee 
on a moment's notice just yesterday.
  When we talk about housing in Gaza, it is not just that people have 
been displaced time and time again. More than 60 percent of Gaza's 
housing has been damaged or destroyed, including 221,000 housing units 
that have been completely destroyed. Where are these people going to go 
to if and when this war ever ends? And with that housing destruction, 
more than a million people remain permanently homeless. Entire 
neighborhoods have been wiped out. Today, more than a million 
Palestinians--almost half of the population of Gaza--are living in 
tents trying to find shelter, trying to find protection from the 
intense summer heat in that area.
  But it is not just the housing that has been destroyed. Gaza's 
civilian infrastructure has also been devastated. Water and sewer 
systems have been made inoperable--and the result: Raw sewage is 
running through the streets of Gaza, spreading disease, and there is 
very little clean water. Many roads are impassable, and there is 
virtually no electricity now in Gaza.
  But it is not just the housing that has been destroyed, not just the 
infrastructure that has been destroyed. Gaza had 12 universities, 
schools of higher learning. Every single one of those universities has 
been bombed, and 88 percent of all school buildings have been damaged. 
In other words, under Mr. Netanyahu's leadership, the entire 
educational system in Gaza has been annihilated. In fact, 540 people 
have been killed while sheltering--sheltering--in U.N. schools.
  But it is not just the housing that has been destroyed, not just the 
infrastructure of Gaza that has been destroyed, not just the 
educational system which has been destroyed. At a time when almost 
90,000 people are dealing with war-related injuries in Gaza--including 
many, many children who have lost their arms and their legs or are 
suffering all kinds of diseases--the healthcare system in Gaza has been 
systemically obliterated. Madam President, 21 of Gaza's 36 hospitals 
are completely out of service, and the remainder can only partially 
function. The World Health Organization has recorded more than 1,000 
attacks on healthcare facilities since October 7. As a result, disease 
is spreading due to shortages of clean water, sanitation, and hygiene. 
Cases of hepatitis, dysentery, and other infections are on the rise. 
And cases of polio have now been detected.
  Malnourished women struggle to breastfeed their newborns. Formula is 
inaccessible and even when available cannot be used without reliable 
sources of clean water. So the tiniest children and their mothers 
suffer as well, as a result.
  But it is not just displacement of 1.9 million people. It is not just 
the mass

[[Page S5321]]

destruction of housing. It is not just the obliteration of the 
infrastructure. It is not just the destruction of the educational 
system. It is not just the annihilation of the healthcare system in 
Gaza that we are seeing. It is even worse than that.
  And I hope that my colleagues who attend Mr. Netanyahu's remarks on 
Wednesday remember this as they rise time and time again to give him 
standing ovations. As a result of Israeli restrictions on humanitarian 
aid, people in Gaza are now starving to death. So remember when people 
stand up and applaud, children, women, innocent people in Gaza are now 
starving to death. According to the best available research, drawing on 
leading experts from the U.N. and other aid organizations around the 
world, some 495,000 Palestinians face starvation. These groups estimate 
that more than 50,000 children require treatment for acute malnutrition 
and are at risk of starving to death. At least 30 documented--I suspect 
it is a lot higher number than that--have already starved to death. So 
when you stand up and applaud that guy, remember the starving children 
that he has created.
  But even those who get the lifesaving care they need, the children 
will carry the scars of this disaster for the rest of their lives. As 
every psychologist will tell you, a child's brain develops fastest in 
the first 2 years of life, and childhood malnutrition does lifelong 
cognitive and physical damage. That is what Netanyahu is doing to the 
children of Gaza.
  And I would ask my colleagues to stop for a moment and also think 
about the psychological damage this war has done to the children there. 
Imagine being a child living with the constant buzzing of drones above 
your head, wondering whether those drones are going to rain fire and 
bullets onto your home, wondering if they might strike you at any 
moment.
  Imagine being a little 5-year-old witnessing your relatives killed, 
your neighborhood destroyed. Think about being a 10-year-old going 
hungry night after night and searching around for water and for food to 
survive. Think about being pushed from one place to another not knowing 
where you will be tomorrow, carrying your little water, your few 
belongings through streets running with sewage and amid piles of rubble 
and trash.
  That is what Mr. Netanyahu, the man Congress is honoring tomorrow, 
has done to the children of Gaza. According to the U.N. and virtually 
every humanitarian organization functioning in Gaza, Israel has 
intentionally blocked humanitarian aid--including food, water, and 
medical supplies--from reaching the desperate people of Gaza.
  And let us be clear: There is no--no--excuse for this. Blocking 
humanitarian aid, killing aid workers, and creating the conditions for 
starvation--these are not only acts of extreme cruelty, but they are 
clear violations of both U.S. and international law. They are war 
crimes. They are war crimes. And Netanyahu heads the government that 
has enacted these policies.
  So, tomorrow, when Netanyahu comes before Congress, I hope that, for 
one second, the Members who attend will focus--just for a second--on 
the starving children in Gaza. I hope, while they applaud, that they 
will think about the hundreds of aid workers killed, the dozens of 
hospitals bombed, the housing destroyed, and the universities 
obliterated.
  When Mr. Netanyahu rises to speak tomorrow, I also hope that my 
colleagues remember that all this death and destruction is not just the 
unfortunate byproduct of a brutal war. Revenge and destruction are the 
explicit policy of Netanyahu's extremist rightwing government.
  Two days into the war--2 days--after October 7, Israeli Defense 
Minister Yoav Gallant said:

       I have ordered a complete siege on the Gaza Strip. There 
     will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is 
     closed. We are fighting human animals and we are acting 
     accordingly.

  And that is exactly how they have pursued this war. They define the 
Palestinian people as human animals, and, tragically, they have acted 
consistent with that view.
  Let us remember and understand that the Israel of today is not the 
Israel of the past. It is now run by a rightwing extremist government.
  National Security Minister Ben-Gvir, the man who oversees the police, 
has long advocated for the forcible expulsion of Palestinians from the 
region.
  Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, the man responsible for the 
occupied West Bank, is also an extreme racist and has called for the 
expulsion of Palestinians from the land. He has called for segregated 
hospital wards for Jews and Arabs because ``Arabs are my enemies.'' And 
that is the man who is in charge of the occupied West Bank. And that is 
the current Israeli Finance Minister as well.
  It should come as no surprise that this extremist government, in 
addition to destroying Gaza, has overseen record Israeli settlement in 
the occupied West Bank, in violation of international law and 
commitments to the United States. Israeli forces and vigilante settlers 
have killed more than 500 Palestinians in the West Bank since October 
7, including 131 children.
  Just last week, the International Court of Justice issued a ruling on 
the Israeli occupation of the West Bank. A panel of 15 accomplished 
judges from around the world confirmed what most of the world has long 
known: that occupation is illegal and must end.
  I know that there are some here in Congress--not many, but some--who 
have condemned Netanyahu and his extremist government. But condemning 
Netanyahu is not enough. We cannot condemn a Prime Minister, who the 
ICC considers to be a war criminal, while at the same time continuing 
to provide his government with tens of billions of dollars in military 
aid. That is hypocrisy at its worst.
  Just today, I am happy to say, seven major trade unions here in the 
United States, including the Association of Flight Attendants, the 
American Postal Workers Union, the International Union of Painters, the 
National Education Association, the Service Employees International 
Union, the United Auto Workers, and the United Electrical Workers--some 
of the largest unions in America, representing some 6 million workers--
sent a letter to President Biden calling on him to immediately halt all 
military aid to Israel.
  And they are absolutely right. Netanyahu is a rightwing extremist and 
a war criminal who has devoted his career to killing the prospects of a 
two-state solution and lasting peace in the region. He should not be 
welcome to the U.S. Congress.
  On the contrary, his policies in Gaza and the West Bank should be 
roundly condemned and his rightwing extremist government should not 
receive another nickel from U.S. taxpayers.
  I yield the floor.

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