- ‘What we are witnessing is the gross violation of human rights in Gaza, and that is being done with U.S. military assistance,’ Ocasio-Cortez said
- At least 48 Democratic members of Congress have demanded a ceasefire, as Israel and Gaza have agreed to a humanitarian pause
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said U.S. military assistance is aiding human rights violations in Gaza – as debate breaks out among Democrats over whether aid should be conditioned on whether or not Israel does enough to avoid civilian casualties.
‘What we are witnessing is the gross violation of human rights in Gaza, and that is being done with U.S. military assistance,’ Ocasio-Cortez said. ‘I don’t think that the American people want to see our public resources going to finance gross human rights violations.’
The progressive firebrand encouraged pro-Palestine activists to keep putting pressure on lawmakers to support a ceasefire.
‘I want to also be clear about how powerful that is, constituent engagement,’ she said in a constituent tele-town hall Monday night.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said U.S. military assistance is aiding human rights violations in Gaza – as debate breaks out among Democrats over whether aid should be conditioned on whether or not Israel does enough to avoid civilian casualties
‘These are not just progressives,’ Ocasio-Cortez went on. ‘We have seen representatives from swing seats, that just barely won their seats, are now starting to come out in favor of a cease-fire. So all of this activism is making this a politically tenable and a politically normalized position. So I want to encourage individuals who are, you know, making that call or perhaps if you haven’t made that call yet, to please do so.’
At least 48 Democratic members of Congress have demanded a ceasefire, as Israel and Gaza have agreed to a humanitarian pause as long as Hamas continues to hand over Israeli hostages.
Hamas handed over its fifth tranche of hostages on Tuesday as Israel agreed to extend the four-day truce deal by two more days. Hamas has released 69 hostages since the truce began, including one American. In exchange Israel has released over 150 Palestinian prisoners.
Palestinians inspect the destruction caused by Israeli strikes in Wadi Gaza, in the central Gaza Strip on November 28, 2023
Palestinians walk after crossing from the northern Gaza Strip to the southern Gaza Strip as Israeli soldiers move along Salah Al Din road in the central Gaza Strip, 28 November 2023
Nine Americans remain in captivity by Hamas.
Some 1,200 Israelis were killed when Hamas launched an attack on October 7, with around 240 taken hostage. Over 15,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed in Gaza, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-run territory. Neither authority’s figures have been independently verified.
The House has already passed some $14 billion in aid for Israel. But in the Senate, a number of Democratic lawmakers have come out in favor of conditioning that money on Israel cleaning up its human rights record.
‘We regularly condition our aid to allies based upon compliance with U.S. law and international law,’ Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., chairman of the Foreign Relations subcommittee on the Middle East, said recently.
‘I think that you can defeat Hamas without this level of civilian casualty,’ which he called ‘unacceptable.’
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has also called for conditions.
‘We cannot be complicit in actions that violate international law,’ he wrote on X. ‘That includes an end to indiscriminate bombing.’
Biden has called aid conditions a ‘worthwhile thought,’ but seemed hesitant. ‘I don’t think if I started off with that, we’d ever gotten to where we are today. We have to take this a piece at a time.’