Newsom Calls for Conditions on US Military Aid to Israel
"Aid has to be conditioned," Newsom told the Washington Examiner, pointing to settler violence in the occupied West Bank and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies, which he argued are weakening prospects for a two-state solution.
"Bibi Netanyahu has done a remarkable job of really isolating himself from the rest of the world and increasingly from the American people," Newsom said, adding that "the damage he's done is incalculable."
Newsom also characterized Israel’s war in Gaza as a "moral catastrophe," while stopping short of identifying which categories of US military assistance should be restricted or made conditional.
He noted that military aid covers different types of support, including defensive systems such as Iron Dome and weapons intended for offensive operations. His comments did not establish a specific framework for determining which assistance would be affected.
The California governor said US support should be aligned with human rights principles, including those reflected in the Leahy framework. The federal rule, established in 1997, prohibits US government assistance to foreign military units when there is "credible information" that they have committed serious human rights violations.
Newsom’s remarks come amid continuing debate within the United States over military assistance to Israel, the conduct of the war in Gaza and the conditions Washington should attach to security cooperation. His comments also place the issue within the broader discussion among Democratic figures about US policy toward Israel as the next presidential election cycle approaches.
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