Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) announced he would boycott Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “highly inappropriate” joint address to Congress on Wednesday, arguing instead that an arrest warrant for war crimes should be issued for the Israeli leader on the House floor.
In a press release issued just before the highly anticipated parliamentary address, Pocan declared that he would not attend the speech, citing Prime Minister Netanyahu’s “deadly overreaction” to the unprecedented, unprovoked and brutal attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023 – the worst attack against Jewish people since the Nazi Holocaust.
“For nearly 10 months, Prime Minister Netanyahu has waged a deadly and disproportionate counterattack targeting civilians in Gaza,” he said.
I will not attend @NetanyahuSpeech in parliament.
My regret is that an arrest warrant for him for war crimes has not yet been issued by the ICC, and I would be happy to serve one on him on the floor of the House of Representatives.
Unfortunately, Netanyahu does not support peace in the Middle East. pic.twitter.com/6mNEfSsrif
— Rep. Mark Pocan (@RepMarkPocan) July 24, 2024
“It is highly inappropriate to give the honour of addressing Congress to an individual who has flagrantly violated international human rights law and for whom the International Criminal Court has recommended an arrest warrant for war crimes,” Pocan said, adding that he “regrets” that no such warrant was issued and argued that “I would have been happy to serve one on the House floor.”
The congressman accused Netanyahu of “failing to rescue and release more than 100 Israeli citizens held hostage by Hamas” by not bowing to the demands of a US-designated Islamic extremist group. The Democratic congressman also accused Netanyahu of “ignoring the pleas of their families to let them return home.”
“It is now time for Prime Minister Netanyahu to agree to a ceasefire and return the hostages,” he concluded, claiming that the Israeli prime minister “does not support peace in the Middle East.”
Pocan said he had invited as his guest for the speech Maya Roman, a cousin of Yarden Roman, a former Hamas hostage.
After the October 7 attack, Pocan Criticized Israel’s “overreaction” to Gaza has been likened to “shooting fish in a barrel.”
of The multi-pronged Hamas attack saw some 3,000 terrorists infiltrate Israel by land, sea and air, shooting at attendees of an outdoor music festival and going door-to-door searching for Jewish men, women and children in local towns, torturing, raping, executing, immolating and kidnapping them.
From body camera footage of a Hamas terrorist on October 7th.
A little girl hid under a table in her home before being shot and killed.
Don’t look away, never forget. pic.twitter.com/sMLVczh5tR
— Mossad: Satirical but brilliant (@TheMossadIL) December 9, 2023
The massacre, reminiscent of the Nazi Holocaust, left around 1,200 people dead in Judea. Injuredand at least 241 hostages of all ages have been taken, nearly half of whom remain in Gaza.
The majority of the victims were civilians. dozens Of the American people.
Pocan’s statement came before Netanyahu is due to address parliament at 2 p.m.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York), and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York). was invited Prime Minister Netanyahu is scheduled to address a joint session of parliament in June, but several lawmakers have indicated they intend to boycott the speech. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) The two senators called Netanyahu a “war criminal” and vowed not to attend.
Joshua Klein is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter. Joshua Klein.
