US’ Bernie Sanders would ‘absolutely’ use military aid to force Israel to change

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has said he would consider cutting military aid to Israel.

In an interview Sanders was asked whether he would consider using the billions of dollars in military aid from the US to change Israel’s behaviour, to which he replied “absolutely”.

Our policy cannot just be pro-Israel pro-Israel pro-Israel. It has got to be pro-region working with all of the people, all of the countries in that area.

Sanders also expressed a wish to end the US’ hawkish approach to foreign policy.

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He said: “We have spent trillions of dollars on the war on terror, and I, as president, would like to sit down in a room with the leadership of Saudi Arabia, with the leadership of Iran, with the leadership of the Palestinians, with the leadership of Israel, and hammer out some damn agreements, which will try to end the conflicts that exist there forever.”

Sanders is a fierce critic of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and previously referred to his government as right-wing and racist, earning him condemnation from Israeli lawmakers.

The presidential hopeful has previously opposed increasing military aid to Israel, and slammed Israeli policy as “apartheid-like”.

Other left-wing Democrat allies such as Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have also signalled they would push for military aid cuts, saying it was “on the table”.