Ilhan Omar slams Blinken’s ‘humiliation’ after his trip to Israel ends without Gaza cease-fire deal
Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar slammed on Wednesday the “humiliation” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken suffered during his recent visit to Israel, where he failed to secure a breakthrough for a Gaza cease-fire deal.
Now ask yourselves, how does our Secretary of State travel 11 times begging for an end to a situation that we truly have continued to provide the bombs and the weapons that are creating that situation,” the Minnesota representative told the “Uncommitted” movement’s press conference in Chicago, Illinois, where thousands of delegates gathered for the Democratic National Convention.
How do we let our Secretary of State go into Israel and say that we are close to securing a cease-fire now for the 11th time, to leave for Egypt, only for Bibi Netanyahu to have a press conference right after him and say we are not taking a deal?” she said, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
How come we are not ashamed that this is the kind of humiliation our government’s representatives are subjected to? It is not only the duplicity of claiming that we believe in international law, but also humiliation,” she said.
Omar further criticized the Biden administration for “refusing to recognize the genocidal war” that is happening in Gaza, adding that “Working tirelessly for a cease-fire is really not a thing, and they should be ashamed of themselves for saying such thing, because we supply these weapons. “So if you really want a cease-fire, you just stop sending the weapons,” she further said.
Speaking at the same event, Missouri Representative Cori Bush — who lost her seat in the Democratic primary to challenger St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell, who was endorsed by pro-Israel lobby groups — implored her fellow Democrats to stand by their principles.
She noted that over 40,000 men, women, and children in Gaza have been murdered by weapons that the United States have manufactured and paid for.
Millions of people starve in this place while facing the continued dropping of bombs that the United States has paid for,” she said. “They question us about why we stand, and why we keep talking and marching and crying and pushing and demanding, and the bombs keep dropping and they’re not listening.” Blinken wrapped up his ninth trip to the Middle East since Oct. 7 after visiting Qatar, Egypt, and Israel without any breakthrough on Gaza’s cease-fire talks.
He told reporters Monday in Israel that Netanyahu had agreed to a US, Qatari, and Egyptian “bridging proposal” last week, following the most recent round of talks in Doha, Qatar. However, several hours after Blinken had made his comments, Israeli media reported quotes from Netanyahu that Israel would not, under any conditions, withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor between Gaza and Egypt or the Netzarim Corridor that separates the Gaza Strip in two.
Following last week’s cease-fire talks in Doha, the US, Egypt, and Qatar said that they gave Israel and Hamas a “bridging proposal,” in an attempt to further narrow remaining gaps in the manner that allows for a swift implementation of the deal.
Hamas rejected the proposal as it only satisfied the conditions of Netanyahu that included his rejection of a permanent ceasefire, a complete withdrawal from Gaza and insisted on continuing the occupation of the Netzarim Corridor, the Rafah border crossing, and the Philadelphi Corridor.
Back in May, Biden claimed that Israel had given him a three-phase deal to cease hostilities in Gaza and to free the hostages there. It consists of stopping fire followed by an exchange of hostages with prisoners, retreating of the military from Gaza, surging aids, and finally permanent cessation of hostilities.
Israel has pressed on with its relentless campaign of terror against the Gaza Strip since an attack by the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas last Oct. 7, in brazen defiance of a UN Security Council call to end the hostilities immediately.
This barbarous conflict has left more than 40,170 Palestinian deaths, mainly women and children, and above 92,740 injuries, health authorities at the local level said. The intensified blockade of Gaza has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while much of the region has been reduced to ruins.
An accusation that Israel committed genocide has been charged before the ICJ, which ordered a stop in the military operation in the southern city of Rafah, to which more than a million Palestinians had been displaced prior to its invasion by them on May 6.
