Ilhan Omar Profile picture
Aug 16, 2019 22 tweets 8 min read Read on X
Let’s be clear: the goal of our trip was to witness firsthand what is happening on the ground in Palestine and hear from stakeholders —our job as Members of Congress.

But since we were unable to fulfill our role as legislators, I am sharing what we would have seen. (THREAD)
First, I planned to hold meetings with members of the Knesset (both Jewish and Arab) along with Israeli security officials.

The claims of @IsraeliPM otherwise are not true.

As a delegation, we were also were scheduling a meeting with @USAmbIsrael.
Then, the delegation was going to receive a briefing on the Bedouin community in East Jerusalem. For decades, Bedouin homes have been bulldozed and communities have been uprooted in order to build settlements on Palestinian land.
Though these settlements are illegal under international law and threaten peace, settlement growth has skyrocketed under Trump. middleeasteye.net/news/how-israe…
Then the UN was going to brief us about the effect of humanitarian aid cuts on Palestinians.
Last year, the Trump Admin announced the U.S. will no longer contribute to the United Nations’ relief agency for Palestinian refugees, threatening the livelihood of millions and violating international law.
washingtonpost.com/world/middle_e…
We planned a video conference with youth from Gaza.

The humanitarian crisis in Gaza is one of the worst in the world—with 97% of water unfit for human consumption and on the verge of collapse. Most of the people in Gaza are children.
Israeli officials do not let Members of Congress visit Gaza.
thenation.com/article/these-…
We then planned to visit Hebron. Once a bustling economic hub, settlement expansion has resulted in a two-tiered city, with Palestinians under military occupation forced to walk on the opposite side of the street from Israelis. btselem.org/hebron
77% of shops have closed bc of military occupation. Palestinians walk with garbage nets above their heads, put up to catch trash thrown by settlers. Violent attacks on Palestinians are routine.
We were going to receive a tour of the city from @btsisrael, Israeli military veterans who aim to raise awareness about their experiences with the occupation.
We planned to visit the separation wall around historic Bethlehem. Only 13% of Bethlehem is now accessible to Palestinian use.

The wall, built in 2002 against international law, was said at the time to be “temporary.”

It still stands. openbethlehem.org/wall
This was not the first trip of its kind. Last year,@repmarkpocan, @rephankjohnson and others visited with an almost identical itinerary.

Other Members of Congress have done similar trips.
But my colleagues and I are not the only ones who are being denied the right to see for themselves the reality on the ground in the West Bank. @OmarSShakir is currently facing deportation for his work with Human Rights Watch.
In 2018, the Netanyahu government refused entry to Katherine Frank and my friend @VinceWarren who had arrived on a mostly-POC human rights mission. haaretz.com/israel-news/.p…
And of course, this lack of respect for freedom of movement and freedom of expression is part of the day-to-day lives of Palestinians living in the occupied territories.
btselem.org/topic/freedom_…
Though we were unable to witness this firsthand, there are other ways for people to learn about the occupation.

Follow @alhaq_org, @btselem, @amnesty and other groups speaking out about human rights violations.
Follow @PeterBeinart, who has an excellent piece laying out the realities of the occupation and making the case for more reporting and visits by Members of Congress. forward.com/opinion/429680…
Follow @IfnotnowOrg, who gave a virtual tour of the occupied territories here. facebook.com/IfNotNowOrg/vi…
As many of my colleagues have stated in the last 24 hours, we give Israel more than $3 billion in aid every year. This is predicated on their being an important ally in the region, and the 'only democracy' in the Middle East.
Denying visits to duly elected Members of Congress is not consistent with being either an ally or a democracy. We should be leveraging that aid to stop the settlements and ensure full rights for Palestinians.
The occupation is real.
Barring members of Congress from seeing it does not make it go away.
We must end it—together. (END)

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More from @IlhanMN

Oct 17, 2023
Bombing a hospital is among the gravest of war crimes. The IDF reportedly blowing up one of the few places the injured and wounded can seek medical treatment and shelter during a war is horrific.

@POTUS needs to push for an immediate ceasefire to end this slaughter.
Our office cited an AP report yesterday that the IDF had hit a Baptist hospital in Gaza. Since then, the IDF denied responsibility and the US intelligence assessment is that this was not done by Israel.
It is a reminder that information is often unreliable and disputed in the fog of war (especially on Twitter where misinformation is rampant). We all have a responsibility to ensure information we are sharing is from credible sources and to acknowledge as new reports come in.
Read 4 tweets
Oct 9, 2023
Gaza’s 2+ million population are mostly children, who live under blockade in what Israel’s own former intelligence chief has called an open air prison.

The overwhelming majority live in poverty.

Many suffer lifelong psychological and physical trauma. 🧵
Just as we honor the humanity of the hundreds of innocent Israeli civilians and 9 Americans who were killed this weekend, we must honor the humanity of the innocent Palestinian civilians who have been killed and whose lives are upended.
Palestinian residents of the West Bank have scarcely better lives than Gazans—with the routine destruction of their ancestral homes, destruction of their crops, and violent attacks by Israeli settlers.
Read 12 tweets
Jul 13, 2023
There is no way in hell I am attending the joint session address from a President whose country has banned me and denied @RashidaTlaib the ability to see her grandma. A thread👇🏽
@RashidaTlaib WE SHOULD NOT BE INVITING THE PRESIDENT OF ISRAEL—A GOVERNMENT WHO UNDER ITS CURRENT PRIME MINISTER BARRED THE FIRST TWO MUSLIM WOMEN ELECTED TO CONGRESS FROM VISITING THE COUNTRY—TO GIVE A JOINT ADDRESS TO CONGRESS.
@RashidaTlaib Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s address comes on behalf of the most right wing government in Israel’s history, at a time when the government is openly promising to “crush” Palestinian hopes of statehood—essentially putting a nail in the coffin of peace and a two-state solution.
Read 13 tweets
Jun 20, 2023
Today is World Refugee Day. Twenty eight years ago, my family endured four years in a refugee camp with little food or water, and were given the opportunity to start a new life in America as refugees. Image
I and millions of others would not be where we are today if it weren’t for the United States of America—a country that stands as a beacon of hope for the poor, huddled masses yearning to breathe free around the world.
Right now, the world is facing a refugee crisis unlike any since World War II, with refugee crises in Syria, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Venezuela, South Sudan, Central African Republic, Myanmar and more.
Read 6 tweets
Apr 3, 2023
It’s big day today! I welcomed President Biden to my district in Minnesota! He’s visiting as part of the “Investing in America Tour” to highlight the investments the administration is making to address the climate crisis right here in Minnesota.
First I greeted @POTUS on the tarmac. We're visiting the Cummins factory in Fridley (a northern suburb of Minneapolis in my district). This is Cummins’ first electrolyzer manufacturing facility in the United States.
Heading over to the event with @amyklobuchar and @TinaSmithMN. The electrolyzers manufactured here produce clean hydrogen energy that help decrease carbon emissions and reduce our carbon footprint.
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Mar 17, 2023
20 years later, the Iraq War remains the biggest foreign policy disaster of our generation, one that took thousands of American lives and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi lives.

Have we fully learned the lessons from this failed war of aggression, or are we doomed to repeat it? 🧵
We still have not had full accountability for the war crimes perpetrated, or for those responsible for cheerleading the war.

The perpetrators of this war—George W. Bush and Dick Cheney have faced no accountability for war crimes and continue to be accepted in Washington society.
Figures like John Bolton and Elliot Abrams continue to receive appointments to senior national security roles in our government.

Many many more continue to receive some of the largest platforms in media.
Read 15 tweets

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