Ilhan Omar Rips Biden Admin for Sending Weapons to Israel and ‘Greenlighting the Massacre of Palestinians’

Omar: “I’m really honored to stand shoulder to shoulder with — with my colleagues here today. I’m here with you all with a heavy — with a heavy of heart and spirit as the horrific humanitarian crisis in Gaza rages on. Over 1.5 million terrified Palestinians in Gaza have crowded into Rafah in desperation fleeing relentless bombardment that leaves them nowhere to turn, nowhere to hide, and nowhere to call home. Over 600,000 children now stand in the crosshairs of impending assault. My own constituent and her husband are in Rafah and have approval to leave Gaza. Yet, Israeli — Israeli soldiers shoot at them while they carry a white flag. They are also harassed, checked and insulted. Her husband was stripped down to his underwear, arrested, and dragged away to an unknown place. Arrested for no reason. There is no safe place in Gaza. Many in Rafah are yearning for the most basic, yet elusive need, a safe home for themselves. They have endured decades — decades of occupation watch their dreams of stability and dignity grew more distant with each lockdown, each helicopter barrage, each callous eviction. As an assault — as an assault on Rafah extinguishes perhaps their last flicker of hope the images that emerge chill us to our core. Entire city blocks reduced to rubble. People digging with bare hands through wreckage for any sign of life. Wailing mothers clutching their dead children pulled from the wreckage. Entire families wiped out in an instant a never ending onslaught of violence targeting the most vulnerable. This unfolding tragedy is being meticulously documented, each war crime and violations compiled by journalists, human rights groups and U.N. agencies are bearing witness. And still, I ask where is the accountability for these atrocious crimes? Who else will have the courage to speak out against unconscionable brutality and stand firmly on the sweet side of history? Because despite the clarity surrounding Gaza’s despair, the response from political leaders have been nothing short of callous inaction. Empty rhetoric about human rights ring hollow when no action follows. This administration’s policies fail to meaningfully pressure Israel through — through aid restrictions, sanctions or any hint of consequences. The administration continues to provide unconditional military aid, bypassing Congress to send $735 million more in bombs that rain down daily on a trapped civilian population with nowhere to go or flee. This administration cannot claim to be an honest broker of peace while greenlighting the massacre of Palestinians. The reckoning — the restocking of Israel’s arsenal is not foreign policy. It is a state-sponsored violence waged against defenseless families who want to only leave in peace. If we truly want to uplift humanity to protect the innocence — the innocent people of Gaza, to bring hostages safely home, to hold out hope for peace then we must demand ceasefire now. No more American dollars to fund Israel’s bombs. No more children buried under concrete. History will remember those who stood on high moral ground. We must at last have a permanent ceasefire — ceasefire that guarantees security, peace and justice for Palestinians and Israelis alike. And we must, we must never remain silent in this moment. Thank you.” (Applause)