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Joe Biden has met progressive Democratic Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, one of the harshest critics of her response to the Israeli-Palestinian crisis, as she is under increasing pressure from her party to do more to stop hostilities.
Tlaib, a U.S. Palestinian who is part of the sixth “squad” of progressive Democratic members of Congress that includes Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, has urged the Biden administration to take more steps to end the conflict. He has also accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of committing war crimes and openly violating international law.
The White House included Tlaib among those who greeted Biden on Tuesday when he landed in Michigan, home to a large U.S. population, where he will visit a Ford electric vehicle plant. Tlaib represents a district of the state that includes the city of Detroit.
The two spoke for “a few minutes,” according to a report by the media group. Biden later publicly addressed Tlaib during statements at the Ford plant.
“I admire your concern for so many other people,” he told her. “I pray that your grandmother and your family will be well. I promise I will do everything to see who they are, in the West Bank. You are a fighter and God, thank you for being a fighter. “
On Monday, Tlaid claimed Washington was “taking orders” from Netanyahu and said the U.S. president should condemn Israel’s military actions in an interview broadcast on the MSNBC news channel.
“Americans stay strong and. . . saying, “Enough, President Biden,” Tlaib said, accusing Biden of empowering Israel. “You will not do it on our watch. Netanyahu and his leadership are responsible.
“It’s shocking, the hypocrisy that we say we should be human rights administrators, except the Palestinians,” he added.
Tlaib is among the progressives who want the US to condition aid on Israel in accordance with the treatment of the Palestinians, which Biden has repeatedly rejected.
The United States, whose aid supports the Israeli military, has been talking to regional partners to try to degrade the situation, but has repeatedly blocked efforts by members of the UN Security Council to make public statements about violence and have stopped calling for a ceasefire during the first week of violence.
In recent days pro-Israel progressives and democrats they have criticized Israeli military actions, including the bombing of a building in the Gaza Strip that housed international media. Israel said Hamas operated outside the building, a claim it had not backed with public evidence.
Biden has said Israel had a right to defend itself and had spoken to Netanyahu three times since violence erupted between Hamas, a Palestinian Islamist militant group and the Jewish state. On his most recent call on Monday, Biden expressed his support for a ceasefire for the first time. Israel carried out an intense bombing raid on the Gaza Strip hours after the two leaders spoke.
As of Tuesday night, 217 Palestinians had died in the Gaza Strip, including 99 women and children, according to Gaza’s health ministry. Israeli army officials said 130 of the dead were Hamas fighters and discussed Gazan estimates that nearly half of the dead were women and children. Israel has reported ten deaths from Hamas attacks, including two children.
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