Progressive Democrats, White House protesters call for cease-fire in Israel-Hamas conflict
The legislators cited the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza as Israel prepares for a likely ground invasion.
A group of Democratic legislators and White House protesters called for a ceasefire in the Middle East on Monday as Israeli forces prepared for a ground invasion of Gaza in response to last weekend’s attacks.
Thirteen progressive members of Congress introduced a resolution Monday afternoon calling for “an immediate de-escalation and cease-fire in Israel and occupied Palestine,” citing hundreds of thousands of lives being at "imminent risk" due to deteriorating conditions in Gaza.
‘They are running out of body bags’
The leader of the group sponsoring the resolution, Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri, said in a statement that “I am grieving for every Palestinian, Israeli, and American life lost to this violence, and my heart breaks for all those who will be forever traumatized because of it. War and retaliatory violence doesn’t achieve accountability or justice; it only leads to more death and human suffering.”
“The United States bears a unique responsibility to exhaust every diplomatic tool at our disposal to prevent mass atrocities and save lives,” Bush added. “We can’t bomb our way to peace, equality, and freedom.”
On a press call, Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan — the only Palestinian member of Congress — said, “They are running out of body bags. We all know collective punishment of Palestinians is a war crime. The answer to war crimes can never be more war crimes.”
The White House was critical of the initial statements by Bush and Tlaib in the wake of Hamas’ attacks that killed more than 1,400 Israelis, with press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre calling the comments “repugnant” and stressing there were not two sides.
On Friday, dozens of members sent a letter to Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken after Israel issued an evacuation order to roughly a million residents of Gaza who are without power, fuel or a place to go in advance of an expected ground assault.
“As both the European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and the United Nations Commission on Human Rights said, imposing a complete siege on Gaza and depriving 2.3 million Palestinian civilians who have nowhere else to go — half of whom are children — of food, water, and electricity, would be a violation of international humanitarian law,” read the letter.
Blinken initially supported a cease-fire on social media following the Hamas attack, writing that he “encouraged Turkey’s advocacy for a cease-fire and the release of all hostages by Hamas immediately.” He then deleted that post and wrote, “Israel has the right to defend itself, rescue any hostages, and protect its citizens.” HuffPost reported that the State Department circulated emails telling staffers to not use the terms “de-escalation/ceasefire,” “end to violence/bloodshed” and “restoring calm” in regard to the situation in the Middle East.
At least 2,800 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza and another 10,950 injured, the Palestinian Health Ministry said on Monday as the humanitarian crisis in the densely populated area deepens. The Israeli government said that 199 hostages, higher than initial estimates, remain detained by Hamas.
‘Simply not enough’
A group of Jewish protesters also gathered at the White House on Monday afternoon to block doors and call for a cease-fire, led by the groups IfNotNow and Jewish Voice for Peace, leading to more than 30 arrests. The group of progressive Jews has been critical of the Israeli government, saying after the evacuation order of Gaza that, “We are still mourning — but our grief is not a weapon, our pain is not an excuse. We refuse to let our grief be used to justify the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.”
The group sent a letter to White House officials calling for the U.S. government to use every available tool to deescalate the situation, writing, “We commend the Administration’s recent move on pushing the Israeli government to resume water supply to Palestinians and expression of concern about civilian casualties — but that is simply not enough. Thousands of Americans and people around the world are looking to President Biden to continue to use his leverage and to force a ceasefire and negotiate the release of hostages.”
Calls for a cease-fire have not been frequent among elected U.S. officials. Last week, Democratic Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts was booed for calling for a “deescalation of the current violence.” Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, on the other hand, gave the green light for Israel to “level” Gaza if they felt it necessary; Rep. Max Miller of Ohio called for the area to be turned into a “parking lot” and called for Tlaib to stop displaying the Palestinian flag outside her office.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, has also rejected calls for a cease-fire and said Congress will move quickly to confirm additional funds for Israel. Israel currently receives $3.8 billion in aid per year from the United States.
