“Netanyahu is a war criminal committing genocide against the Palestinian people. It is utterly disgraceful that leaders from both parties have invited him to address Congress,” Rashida Tlaib said in a statement on Tuesday.
“He should be arrested and sent to the International Criminal Court,” she added.
Netanyahu arrived in Washington late Monday to address a joint session of Congress. He is scheduled to give his speech today.
The Israel leader is also expected to meet US President, Joe Biden, at the White House on Thursday and is scheduled to have an audience Friday with Republican presidential candidate and former President, Donald Trump, at his residence in Florida.
‘Celebrating Ethnic Cleansing’
Tlaib, a Palestinian-American lawmaker from the state of Michigan, said the US has provided more than $141 billion in weapons to Israel to “fund the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians” since 1948, including $17.9 billion since October.
Stressing that Netanyahu’s “apartheid regime” has already killed more than 39,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, she said: “Yet my colleagues and the Biden Administration continue to approve more funding and send more weapons.”
“Make no mistake: this event is a celebration of the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. It is a sad day for our democracy when my colleagues will smile for a photo op with a man who is actively committing genocide,” she added.
It is “hypocritical” to claim to be concerned about the massive death toll of innocent civilians, and then turn around and welcome the person responsible for “these war crimes” to the Capitol, said the Democratic lawmaker.
“Their silence is betrayal, and history will remember them accordingly. Our government must stop supporting and funding this genocide now,” she added.
Some lawmakers, including Sen. Bernie Sanders, are expected to skip Netanyahu’s address.
Thousands plan to protest Netanyahu’s visit this week in demonstrations demanding a ceasefire in Gaza.
Genocide
Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza.
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 39,090 Palestinians have been killed, and 90,147 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety.
Rashida and her sign:
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