Fetterman Shades Bernie Sanders on Netanyahu Criticism, Praises ‘Blowing Up the Pagers’ and Striking Lebanon: ‘I Love It’
Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) disagreed with progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on Israel’s handling of terror groups and the calls for peace in the region Sunday during an interview with NBC News.
Fetterman was shown criticism from Sanders of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the issue of the Jewish state brokering a peace deal with hostile neighbors. He instead praised the Israeli Defense Forces for showing creativity in how it can continue to eliminate members of Hezbollah inside Lebanon.
On Sunday’s Meet the Press, host Kristen Welker aired a clip of Sanders accusing Netanyahu of escalating in order to remain in power.
“Every time a deal appears close, Netanyahu moves the goalposts, introducing new demands and torpedoing the deal,” Sanders said last week. “It is clear to me that Netanyahu is prolonging the war in order to cling to power.”
Welker showed Fetterman Sanders’s comments and asked, “Do you agree with any part of what your colleague, Senator Sanders, said there?” Fetterman replied:
No, not at all, and I want to be very clear. I thought what Israel chose to do about blowing up the pagers and then the walkie-talkies and then, after targeting and eliminating membership and leadership of Hezbollah. I absolutely support that and in fact, if anything, I love it. And Israel demonstrated that they will not allow terrorists not to be held accountable, and I fully support that. And it’s not about – what my colleague has said.
As ABC News noted, Israel was partially responsible for the manufacturing of communication devices that exploded across Lebanon last week killing almost 40 people.
In a 15-year operation, it was reported Israel used shell companies to get pagers and walkie-talking into the hands of terrorists so they could be remotely detonated if needed. Thursday, the devices began to explode while the IDF spent much of the weekend targeting militants with traditional missile strikes.
