Dem Sen. Welch: I Called for Ceasefire, Schumer Didn’t ‘Because He Totally Supports Israel’s Right to Defend Itself’

On Wednesday’s broadcast of C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal,” Sen. Peter Welch (D-VT) stated that Senate Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) “did not call for a ceasefire, because he totally supports Israel’s right to defend itself. I’ve called for a ceasefire because I think it’s the only way we’re going to get aid in and get the hostages out.”

Welch stated, “[L]et me talk about Sen. Schumer, he did not call for a ceasefire, because he totally supports Israel’s right to defend itself. I’ve called for a ceasefire because I think it’s the only way we’re going to get aid in and get the hostages out. But also, Sen. Schumer…is absolutely committed, and has been from day one, to getting humanitarian assistance in. And that’s because he really cares about innocent loss of life, especially those women and children who are non-combatants. But he also knows that it’s in the interest of getting us to a peaceful outcome sooner. Every time there’s an additional civilian death, that inflames the Arab street and really undercuts the support that Israel had so enjoyed before October 7. In its response, actually, in the immediate aftermath of October 7, all sympathy was to Israel and the suffering that it had experienced. So, I can tell you this, that Sen. Schumer is doing all he can to encourage both Israel and also President Biden to use the leverage that he has to allow those trucks to get in.”

Welch also stated that Israel “has a right to defend itself.”

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