Rashida Tlaib: Netanyahu ‘actively fought against a two-state solution’
In the resolution, which passed 226-188, the House expressed its support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
By RACHEL WOLFRep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) listens as Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan testifies before the House Oversight and Reform Committee on "Trump Administration's Child Separation Policy" on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., July 18, 2019(photo credit: REUTERS/JOSHUA ROBERTS)
Michigan Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, a known Israel critic, spoke out against US House Resolution 326 entitled “Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding United States efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through a negotiated two-state solution,” on Friday. In her speech, the congresswoman spoke about her family background and criticized Israeli policy.In the resolution, which passed 226-188, the House expressed its support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and warned Israel against attempting to annex territory in the West Bank.“I rise today as a proud granddaughter of a strong, loving Palestinian woman, my Sity,” she began. “And for me to stand up for her human dignity, I must oppose House Resolution 326.”Tlaib said the resolution “endorses an unrealistic, unattainable solution” that “legitimizes inequality, ethnic discrimination, and inhumane conditions.” She blamed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Likud party for the lack of a two-state solution, saying they “actively fought against a two-state solution and took steps to ensure its demise.”The congresswoman also condemned Israel’s nation-state law and compared it to US “separate but equal” segregation policies. “Given our nation’s history of segregation, we should recognize when such injustices are occurring.”“We cannot be honest brokers of peace if we refuse to use the words: illegal occupation by Israel. Our country and the United States Congress must condemn these undemocratic actions. We must take bolder actions to ensure [that] human rights are upheld in Israel and that Palestinians and black Israelis are treated with the equality that every human being deserves,” she said.Tlaib posted a video of her speech on Facebook and wrote “I spoke today as the proud granddaughter of a strong, loving Palestinian woman in opposition to #HRes326. We must take bolder actions to ensure human rights are upheld in Israel and that Palestinians and Black Israelis are treated with the equality every human being deserves.”Known Israel supporter, Democratic House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, said the resolution was "restatement of America's policy.”"For more than 20 years American presidents from both political parties and Israeli prime ministers have supported reaching a two-state solution that establishes a democratic Palestinian state to coexist peacefully and constructively side-by-side with a democratic Israel," said Jewish Democratic Representative Jamie Raskin, from Maryland's 8th congressional district.
