Rep. Rashida Tlaib on Monday slammed her Republican colleagues who introduced resolutions to censure her over her recent comments on the Israel-Hamas war.
In a written statement, the “Squad” member said the censure resolutions were “distorting” her stance on the matter and “filled with obvious lies.”
“It’s a shame my colleagues are more focused on silencing me than they are on saving lives, as the death toll in Gaza surpasses 10,000,” Tlaib, D-Mich., said. “Many of them have shown me that Palestinian lives simply do not matter to them, but I still do not police their rhetoric or actions.”
“Rather than acknowledge the voice and perspective of the only Palestinian American in Congress, my colleagues have resorted to distorting my positions in resolutions filled with obvious lies,” the statement continued. “I have repeatedly denounced the horrific targeting and killing of civilians by Hamas and the Israeli government, and have mourned the Israeli and Palestinian lives lost.”
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More than 1,400 people in Israel were killed in the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, and hundreds were taken hostage back to Gaza. Israel has since responded to the surprise attack with rocket fire, killing more than 10,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza.
Georgia Republican Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Rich McCormick moved on Monday to force votes on competing resolutions to censure the progressive Michigan congresswoman, who has been very critical of Israel since Hamas launched its attack on Oct. 7. The House voted against Greene’s first censure attempt last week.
Tlaib has been called out since the war began by some who say she didn’t do enough to condemn the Hamas attack.
On Friday, Tlaib released a video in which she says “we will remember in 2024” before text appears stating: “Joe Biden supported the genocide of the Palestinian people.” A clip also showed demonstrators chanting “from the river to the sea.”
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In a post on her Instagram Story on Sunday, Tlaib further accused Biden of “complicity” in the deaths of children in the Middle East.
Tlaib also blamed Congress in her Monday statement for not listening to most Americans, whom she says support a mutual cease-fire, along with the release of hostages and providing humanitarian aid.
“Meanwhile, each day that passes without a ceasefire brings more death and destruction upon innocent civilians, who have nowhere safe to go, drawing outrage and condemnation from the American people and the international community,” Tlaib said.
The Biden administration has resisted a push for a cease-fire, instead calling for humanitarian pauses in order to get aid to Palestinian civilians as well as to pull Israeli hostages out of Gaza.
FOX News’ Landon Mion and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
