The influential US Senator Bernie Sanders has sharply criticised an extreme and inflammatory comment by Israel’s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, over Lebanon. Calling Ben Gvir a ‘war criminal’ outright, Sanders said the United States should give no military or financial aid of any kind to the current hardline administration in Jerusalem.
After news that four Israeli soldiers had been killed in clashes with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, Ben Gvir claimed on social media last Friday (June 19) that ‘all of Lebanon must be burned to ashes.’ It was in response to this aggressive statement that the independent senator from Vermont, Bernie Sanders, issued his sharp reaction.
In a statement, Senator Bernie Sanders said: ‘Such reckless statements cannot come from a normal cabinet member of any civilised or major state. This comment by the Israeli national security minister, Ben Gvir, is essentially the statement of an open war criminal.’ He made clear that the spending of US taxpayers’ dollars behind those who threaten to burn down an entire country had to stop.
Ignoring the international and US pressure, however, Ben Gvir again defended his hardline stance on the social-media platform X (formerly Twitter). Addressing the US administration, he wrote: ‘With full respect to the Americans, Israel must make clear to the whole world that the blood of our children and the security of our citizens is no trifling matter.’ Repeating his earlier position, he again insisted: ‘All of Lebanon must burn.’
Meanwhile, Washington has set up a special arrangement for round-the-clock monitoring of the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. A US official said on Monday that the monitoring cell had been established through the US military’s Central Command.
Washington’s announcement came at a time when an 18-hour-long round of diplomatic talks between Iran and the United States had concluded. The historic talks, held in Switzerland, were mediated by Pakistan and Qatar, with the two arch-rivals discussing in detail the unresolved clauses of an agreement signed last week, particularly the ending of hostilities and fighting on all fronts.
According to the latest figures from Lebanese government officials, more than 4,000 people have been killed and more than 12,000 injured so far in Israel’s heavy military operation on the Lebanon border, which began on March 2. In addition, more than one million Lebanese residents have been displaced from their homes by Israeli bombardment. It was amid this grave humanitarian crisis that the special extended talks between Washington and Tehran were held over the weekend, aimed at ending the war in the Middle East and implementing the agreement.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report