California governor says US military aid to Israel must be conditioned

Newsom says position is becoming Democratic Party consensus, calls Israel's war in Gaza 'moral catastrophe'

California Governor Gavin Newsom said Saturday that United States military aid to Israel "has to be conditioned," describing the position as increasingly becoming the Democratic Party's consensus as he campaigns in New Hampshire ahead of a potential 2028 presidential run.

"Aid has to be conditioned," Newsom told the Washington Examiner, citing settler violence in the occupied West Bank and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's policies, which he said undermine 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."

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Newsom called Israel's war in Gaza a "moral catastrophe" but declined to specify which forms of military assistance should face conditions, noting the distinctions between defensive systems such as Iron Dome and offensive weapons.

He said US aid should advance human rights principles, including under the Leahy framework — a 1997 federal rule prohibiting the US government from funding foreign military units linked to "credible information" of severe human rights violations.

Democrats oppose

His remarks come amid growing Democratic opposition to arms transfers to Israel.

Most Senate Democrats voted in the spring to block a weapons sale, while more than 100 House Democrats opposed a separate measure in July.

Israel is scheduled to hold elections on October 27, which Newsom said could influence the debate.

Newsom has previously criticised Netanyahu while expressing support for Israel, including visiting the country in 2023 to meet survivors of the Hamas attack. In March, he called his description of Israel as an "apartheid state" a "regret."