White House Urged to Stop Enabling Israel’s Killing of Palestinian Kids
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A Muslim member of the US House of Representatives called on the White House to stop enabling the killing of Palestinian children in the wake of an incident where Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian teenager in the occupied West Bank.
Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian-American member of US Congress, said in a Twitter post that Washington should give up its unconditional support for Israel and stop the regime from committing crimes against minors, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported on Monday.
“Our country must stop enabling the killing of children,” Tlaib posted.
Mohammad Da'das, 13, was shot during clashes that erupted between Israeli troops and Palestinians in the village of Deir al-Hatab, east of the city of Nablus, on November 5. The Palestinian Health Ministry said the teenager had been shot in the abdomen.
Congresswoman Tlaib has frequently spoken out against the United States’ military support for Israel, and called for the protection of the Palestinians’ rights.
In an emotional speech at the House of Representative in May, Tlaib criticized President Joe Biden and other top officials for offering statements that she said did not acknowledge “Palestinian humanity.” “To read the statements from President (Joe) Biden, Secretary (of State Antony) Blinken, General (Lloyd) Austin and leaders of both parties, you would hardly know Palestinians existed at all.”
Tlaib and Ilhan Omar, the first two Muslim women elected to Congress, are outspoken critics of Israel’s policies toward the Palestinians and vocal supporters of the Boycott, Divest and Sanction (BDS) movement. The pair has time and again said Congress should reconsider the annual US aid to Israel.
The United States and Israel signed an agreement in September 2016 for the regime to receive $38 billion in military assistance over the next decade, the largest such aid package in US history.
Separately, a US grassroots movement on Sunday denounced Israel’s killing of the Palestinian teenager. “13-year-old Mohammad Da’das was shot and killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank today, bringing the toll of Palestinian children murdered by Israel to at least 80. How many more?” it tweeted.
Human rights groups have taken the Israeli regime to task for its controversial “shoot-to-kill” policy, based on which Israeli forces are ordered to open fire on Palestinians during confrontations even in cases where they can be captured.
Israeli forces usually use force to disperse anti-settlement protests in the West Bank. Several neighborhoods of the occupied territories have also become the site of repeated attacks by Israeli settlers over the past month.
