Rashida Tlaib claims that the recent batch of defense aid has emboldened Israel to launch a ground invasion of Rafah
Washington bears responsibility for the “genocide” being carried out in Gaza by the Israeli military, US congresswoman Rashida Tlaib has claimed. Continued US support approved by lawmakers is tantamount to “consent for these atrocities,” she insisted.
Israel launched a military operation against Hamas in Gaza following the militant group’s deadly October 7 incursion. According to the Hamas-controlled health authorities, the operation by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has resulted in the deaths of 35,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians.
On Monday night, Israeli tanks and troops entered Rafah, which it sees as the last major Hamas bastion. Rafah is also where hundreds of thousands of internally displaced Palestinians have taken shelter, fleeing the military action.
In a statement on Tuesday, Tlaib argued that there is no coincidence in the fact that Israel’s ground operation in Rafah started after the US sent West Jerusalem over $14 billion “with absolutely no conditions on upholding human rights.”
According to the Democratic congresswoman, who is known for her left-wing views, most of her colleagues in Congress have effectively given the green light to Israel to go ahead with its military action. “Our country is actively participating in genocide,” she claimed.
Tlaib went on to “urge the ICC [International Criminal Court] to swiftly issue arrest warrants for [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and senior Israeli officials to finally hold them accountable for this genocide.”
On Tuesday, Axios quoted House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Michael McCaul as saying that a group of Republican lawmakers in the US House of Representatives is devising sanctions against the ICC in a bid to shield the Israeli leadership. Several US senators also reportedly held a virtual meeting with ICC representatives last week to convey their concerns.
On Tuesday, Qatari news site Al Araby, citing anonymous sources, claimed that the “American administration has given Netanyahu a green light for a limited, short-term operation [in Rafah] … to achieve an image of victory.” Officially, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters that Washington does not support the operation.
