House Democrats Ask Biden Admin To Clarify That Palestinians Can’t Be Pushed Out Of Gaza
HuffPost
The letter is the latest sign of growing discomfort among Democrats on U.S. support for Israel.
A group of 60 House Democrats is urging the Biden administration to emphasize the U.S. does not support forcing Palestinians out of Gaza and to firmly resist any Israeli plans that would include expulsion as a resolution to the Israel-Hamas war.
In a letter sent to Secretary of State Tony Blinken on Thursday and shared exclusively with HuffPost, a group of lawmakers led by Reps. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) and Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) wrote: “Any forced expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza would only exacerbate the trauma and pain Palestinian civilians in Gaza are already experiencing as a result of this conflict and cause more regional tension and conflict for decades to come. We have serious concerns both about extremist rhetoric from some Israeli officials and about proposals being floated by some in the Israeli government for the transfer of Palestinian civilians out of Gaza.”
President Joe Biden has sent mixed signals about his administration’s stance. On the one hand, he, Blinken and other top officials publicly say an expulsion of Gazans is unacceptable. But in October, the Biden administration sent Congress a request for additional military and humanitarian aid for the region that specifically sought money to “address potential needs of Gazans fleeing to neighboring countries.” That funding request is still under consideration by legislators.
“We aim to prevent any confusion or misinterpretation that this funding request could in any way signal U.S. support for the potential transfer of Palestinians out of the Gaza Strip. We ask for a clarification of the U.S. position,” the legislators write. “The United States must remain committed, as you have stated on many occasions, to a future in which all Israelis and Palestinians live in peace with equal rights, dignity, and freedom.”
In recent months, statements from a number of Israeli officials and organizations have raised concerns about the potential of forced displacement. Far-right Israeli minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich have called for the “voluntary emigration” of Palestinians out of Gaza, Israel’s intelligence ministry drafted a proposal for resettling Gazans in Egypt and Israeli officials have privately pushed the idea to foreign counterparts.
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