Senate Democrat Protests ‘Unacceptable’ Treatment of Palestinians… Two Weeks After Posing For Photo With Netanyahu
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) protested Israel’s “unacceptable” starvation of Palestinians on Thursday, just two weeks after she was photographed smiling with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Humanitarian aid must immediately reach the civilian population in Gaza,” declared Klobuchar during a speech on the Senate floor:
The suffering we are seeing every day is unacceptable. More measures can be and must be taken to allow Palestinian families to access basic necessities. Those include food, medicine, and shelter. At the same time, we must focus on achieving a ceasefire as soon as possible – one that would release hostages held by Hamas and allow displaced Palestinians to return home.
Ultimately, what so many of us want to see is a lasting peace and a two-state solution, but that cannot happen when people are starving. As we pursue that goal, however, it is clear that the system for distributing aid that is now in place, run by the “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation,” is nowhere near adequate. Yesterday, more than 100 nongovernmental organizations issued an urgent call to action, including CARE, Mercy Corps, Oxfam, Save the Children, and so many more. Acute malnutrition is rising. Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed in recent weeks while seeking food, most in the vicinity of Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distribution sites and others on the routes of aid convoys. This is simply unacceptable.
Klobuchar delivered her speech just two weeks after she was photographed smiling alongside other senators during a meeting with Netanyahu.
The senator addressed her meeting with Netanyahu in her speech, claiming she only attended to “raise the issue of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.”
“A few weeks ago, when Prime Minister Netanyahu and his delegation visited the Senate to meet with a bipartisan group of senators, I attended, and I attended for one reason in my capacity as number three in the Democratic leadership, and that was to raise the issue of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and I did that,” she said. “I expressed my strong opposition to cutting off vital humanitarian aid, arguing that more aid groups should be allowed into Gaza at more entry points, and also conveyed my opposition to the continued displacement of Palestinians.”
Klobuchar – who has received more than $769,000 from pro-Israel lobbying groups, including AIPAC – received criticism on social media over her speech, with critics accusing her of being “complicit” in the starvation of Palestinians.
The International Criminal Court issued a warrant for Netanyahu’s arrest in November, accusing the Israeli prime minister of being “responsible for the war crimes of starvation as a method of warfare and of intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population,” along with other “crimes against humanity” and “inhumane acts.”
More than a year ago, CNN aired footage of Gaza children in hospital for malnutrition.
Watch above via C-SPAN.
