‘I don’t pay tax so Egypt, Pakistan get bombs and tanks’: US senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed opposes unconditional military aid

Detailed summary

Asked whether Democrats needed to reach a consensus on US support for Israel, Abdul El-Sayed said public opinion was already clear on the matter. | World News

Newly-elected US Senator Abdul El-Sayed on Friday spoke against unconditional military aid to other countries when asked about America's military support to Israel. He said that taxpayers' money should be spent on domestic priorities such as education and healthcare instead of funding foreign militaries.

His remarks come amid growing debate in the US over Washington's military support for Israel following its UN-designated genocide in Gaza.

“I don't pay my tax dollars so the government of Egypt gets tanks or the government of Pakistan or the government of Saudi Arabia. I don't believe that we should be doing unconditional foreign military aid as a matter of course,” El-Sayed said during an interview with PBS.

Asked whether Democrats needed to reach a consensus on US support for Israel, an issue that had emerged as a major point of division during his primary campaign, El-Sayed said public opinion was already clear on the matter.

"The public has pretty much clearly reached consensus. We don't pay our tax dollars to buy bombs and tanks for other countries. We want to pay our tax dollars to buy good schools and healthcare here on our own. Whether or not parties recognise that, that is their choice,” he said.

He maintained that American military assistance should be conditional on adherence to international law and questioned why Washington should continue supporting countries accused of violating it.

“I think that for us, we should be conditional, right, when it comes to any foreign military aid on upholding international law. So why would we send our money to a country that is absolutely destroying, making a mockery out of international law, whether it's genocide or apartheid or it is a war we have no business fighting for the annexation of a different country. If any other country behaved that way, we would think very differently about calling them an ally,” El-Sayed said.

“I think it's our responsibility for us to just go where our principles say we ought to go and treat…

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