Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib refused to apologize Wednesday for saying on Tuesday that Israel is to blame for the hospital explosion that day in Gaza, an accusation that sparked political backlash against her from Republicans as Israel denies fault.
Tlaib joined thousands of protesters calling for a ceasefire in Gaza during a solidarity rally hosted by the left-leaning group Jewish Voice for Peace at the National Mall. She was visibly emotional, at times pausing her speech to openly weep and criticizing lawmakers who have not backed a ceasefire resolution.
Hamas will simply hide under the guise of civilians and the threat to Israel still remains. There is no solution under a ceasefire, because Hamas has committed to the complete destruction of all Jews and Israel. Israel knows this. So they simply will not stop while Hamas exists, because they believe what Hamas says about their stated mission. It’s a nice chart you have showing deaths on each side. But that’s a utilitarian argument and I haven’t been arguing for the utility of sparing Palestine. What I’ve said is, Israel has a right to defend themselves, and the actions they take now are taken in the interests of that defense. So long as they are targeting Hamas, I support them. To do otherwise, is to excuse what Hamas did, because Israel has done bad things in the past too. It’s irrelevant. Hamas is responsible for their actions, and for the actions they’ve taken, they deserve the consequences. The best thing Palestinians can do is get out of the way.
So, by your argument, just “glassing” Gaza would be totally acceptable in your eyes? That the deaths of Palestinian people are acceptable collateral damage in an effort to defend themselves from Hamas? I mean, where do you draw the line between killing a few, and full blown genocide?
No, I would not ever support leveling Gaza. And, I note, Israel has not done that. They’ve declared war on Hamas. Not Palestinians. They’re going to incur more deaths to their people when they invade Gaza. They’re going to spend that blood making sure Hamas is eliminated, because there is no alternative when facing an enemy committed to your complete destruction. You kill good cells to destroy the cancer in your body.