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'Shows his true colors': Bernie Sanders slammed for rejecting calls for Israel-Hamas ceasefire

Bernie Sanders told CNN's Dana Bash that he doesn’t know if a ceasefire is possible with 'an organization like Hamas'

WASHINGTON, DC: Veteran Democrat Senator Bernie Sanders has been facing considerable wrath online after rejecting the call for an Israel-Hamas ceasefire, declaring that the Palestinian militant group “has got to go.”

The 81-year-old Senator is one of Israel’s loudest critics in Congress, who previously called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government racist and regularly blasted its policies.

However, he changed his tone on Sunday, November 5 when he told CNN's Dana Bash that he doesn’t know if a ceasefire is possible with “an organization like Hamas.”

“I don't know how you can have a ceasefire, a permanent ceasefire, with an organization like Hamas, which is dedicated to turmoil and chaos and destroying the state of Israel,” Sanders said on 'State of the Union'.

Sanders, who is Jewish, continued by stating that even the Arab nations in the region have realized that Hamas has to be destroyed. “What the Arab countries in the region understand is that Hamas has got to go,” he expressed.

“The immediate task right now is to end the bombing, to end the horrific humanitarian disaster, to build – go forward with the entire world for a two-tier, two-state solution to the crisis to give the Palestinian people hope.

“But if anyone thinks that Trump is going to be better than Biden on this issue or any other issue, for that matter, I think they are sorely mistaken,” the Senator continued.

Calls for Israel-Hamas ceasefire

Two weeks ago, US President Joe Biden muted cries for a cease-fire in Gaza by instructing Hamas to free the Israeli captives that its fighters had kidnapped, according to Daily Mail.

He made the remark at the White House moments after reports that Hamas had released two hostages held inside Gaza after the October 7 terror attack, where the militant organisation bombarded nearly 2000 missiles on Israel and killed more than 1400 people.

At the tail end of an event on his economic agenda, Biden was asked about having hostages released for a ceasefire when he said, “We should have those hostages released, then we'll talk”.

Before Sanders, Secretary of State Antony Blinken also opposed ceasefire insisting that it would only give Hamas a chance to regroup following its horrific attack on Israel.

Instead, Blinken advocated for "pauses" in the warfare to ensure that residents of Gaza City and the northern enclave, which is being bombarded by intense Israeli artillery barrages, could flee.

The uncompromising tone was echoed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who pledged that “there will be no ceasefire without the return of our hostages, we say this to both our enemies and our friends. We will continue until we beat them.”

Internet slams Sanders for rejecting calls for ceasefire

Sanders’ comments have garnered immense social media attention, with some users slamming him for rejecting the call for an Israel-Hamas ceasefire.

“Senator Sanders, YOU have the blood of 10,000 Palestinians on your hands!” one user wrote. “SHAME ON YOU!!! THANKFUL I NEVER VOTED FOR YOU 🤡”, the second user said.

“How did he drop the bombs? He condemned the Israel attacks on innocent civilians but at the same time, you can say Hamas has to go. You can take both sides on this issue, both sides Israel and Hamas have blood on their hands,” the third user fumed.

“This conflict has been a moral litmus test for the West. The results have exposed people's true colors,” the fourth user asserted while the fifth said, “I am ashamed of respecting Burnie Sanders only if I had knowledge ‘‘em that there is no difference between him and Joe Biden.”

“The billionaire socialist shows his true colours,any word from the multi millionaire AOC?” another user stated.

“The Senator's moral compass was as steadfast as a chameleon's color scheme, constantly adapting to its surroundings,” one more wrote.