- Rep. Ilhan Omar made incendiary comments calling Israel’s response to Hamas’ brutal attacks a ‘war crime’
- Israel-Hamas LIVE: Read our live blog to stay up-to-date with the latest developments in the bloody conflict
A New York congressman railed against Squad member Rep. Ilhan Omar after the Minnesota Democrat asserted that Israel should not fight back against Hamas and called its military efforts a ‘war crime‘.
On Monday, Omar said she opposed an Israeli military response and said that ‘peace and justice will not come from the barrel of a gun.’
Rep. Mike Lawler, a republican representing New York’s 17th congressional district, wrote on X: ‘Israel was just brutally attacked by terrorists, funded by Iran, and you (Omar) want to cut off funding and military aid and equipment.
‘You are out of your mind and unfit to serve in the House of Representatives. This is why you were removed from the Foreign Affairs committee.’
In February, Omar was removed from the committee with fellow Republicans in Congress citing her anti-Israel rhetoric in the past as the reason.
The surprise terror attack by Hamas on Israel at the weekend killed more than 900 people.
In her statement on Monday, Omar attacked Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s actions against Hamas, calling it ‘collective punishment’ and a ‘war crime.’
‘The Israeli Defense Minister has called Palestinians ‘human animals’ and promised to cut off all electricity, all food, and all fuel to civilians in Gaza,’ she said.
Omar is a member of the left-wing group of Democrats in Congress known as The Squad.
They have made their position on Israel abundantly clear over the years. Several of them boycotted Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s address to Congress earlier this year.
On Monday, Omar said on X that the humanity of both ‘innocent Palestinian civilians’ and the ‘the hundreds of innocent Israeli civilians and 9 Americans who were killed this weekend’ should be honored equally.
‘As the world is condemning Hamas’s attacks, we must also oppose an Israeli military response that has already taken the lives of hundreds of Palestinians, including nearly two dozen children.’
She added: ‘The solution to this horror, as ever, is a negotiated peace—with Israelis and Palestinians enjoying equal rights and security guarantees.
‘Instead of continuing unconditional weapons sales and military aid to Israel, I urge the United States at long last to use its diplomatic might to push for peace,’ the Democrat, who has been accused of marrying her brother in the past, added.
Gates McGavick, the communications director for the Republican National Committee, was also angered by Omar’s words.
