On Wednesday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “José Díaz-Balart Reports,” Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) said that “the idea of innocent civilians being killed was such, at times, abandoned, and not following the tenants of armed conflict doesn’t help Israel in the long term,” and that we need a humanitarian pause so “we can show Israel’s ability to defend itself within the rules of war.”
Warner said that a humanitarian pause is in Israel’s interest “to make sure that we can show Israel’s ability to defend itself within the rules of war.”
He added, “I support Israel’s right to defend itself, but I think the idea of innocent civilians being killed was such, at times, abandoned, and not following the tenants of armed conflict doesn’t help Israel in the long term, and, obviously, breeds huge discontent in the region, in Europe, and, candidly, here in the United States as well.”
Host José Díaz-Balart then asked, “Senator, so, you are convinced that Israel is not following the tenants of war?”
Warner answered, “Listen, I think anyone from an outside standpoint — and you’ve clearly got Secretary Blinken making the same case, that there needs to be this humanitarian pause, and I think that is appropriate. And I do think — I hope that some of the scenes we’ve seen of the level of bombing will not be necessary, because you’ve now got Israeli troops surrounding Gaza City. And it will be a challenge taking out these tunnels and taking out the Hamas leadership. But, clearly, in terms of world opinion, Israel, for a number of weeks now, has been losing that world opinion consideration. And you see that by protests breaking out everywhere. And, again, it’s in Israel’s best interest not to have the other Arab states that have created Abraham Accord recognitions to drop away from those accords. It’s in Israel’s best interest to make sure that you don’t have this wanton settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, and I just hope that the Israeli government recognizes that.”
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