Left-wing independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont has said that he will not attend Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address before a joint meeting of Congress.

"It is a very sad day for our country that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been invited – by leaders from both parties – to address a joint meeting of the United States Congress," Sanders said in a statement. "Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal. He should not be invited to address a joint meeting of Congress. I certainly will not attend."

'Israel, of course, had the right to defend itself against the horrific Hamas terrorist attack of October 7th ... '

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell signed onto a letter inviting Netanyahu to speak, and the foreign leader has accepted.

"I am thrilled by the privilege to represent Israel before both houses of Congress and to present the truth about our just war against those seeking our lives to the representatives of the American people and the entire world," Netanyahu noted in a tweet, according to a Google translation of his post, which is in Hebrew.

Last year, Israel launched a war effort after terrorists perpetrated a heinous acts, including slaughter, rape, and kidnapping.

"Israel, of course, had the right to defend itself against the horrific Hamas terrorist attack of October 7th, but it did not, and does not, have the right to go to war against the entire Palestinian people," Sanders said in his statement.

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