Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) dismissed last weekend’s direct attack on Israel by Iran as a “sham” during a tense House Democratic meeting Thursday morning, according to a Capitol Hill source familiar with the matter. told the Post.
Waters, 85, disparaged Israel in her remarks and said the Jewish state did not need to “retaliate” for what she called “a false attack from Iran,” the official said. said.
Late Saturday, Iran fired 320 drones and missiles at Israel in retaliation for the death of Brigadier General John in an April 1 airstrike in Damascus. General Mohammad Reza Zahedi and other senior commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).
An estimated 99% of the rockets and drones were intercepted by Israeli, US, UK, French and Jordanian defense systems. Israeli officials said there was only minimal damage and only one known injury.
Iranian attack is widely expected, with Tehran Claims to have given 72 hours notice to US before the bombardment. U.S. officials dispute claims that the Iranian government had contacted Washington in advance.
The attack prompted House Speaker Mike Johnson to move forward with a foreign aid bill that would include $26.38 billion in aid for Israel, with a final vote on passage scheduled for Saturday night.
The House Democratic Conference is divided over the Middle East war. At one point, Palestinian-American Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) “stormed out” of Thursday’s meeting during a discussion about Israel. Punch Bowl News reported.
“Our country is not only complicit in this genocide, but an active participant,” she declared on social media Thursday afternoon.
“This week, my colleagues want to vote to send over $26 billion more of our tax dollars to Prime Minister Netanyahu, who perpetrates the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.”
During the meeting, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) implored his colleagues to remain united in the coming days, but not on how to deal with Republican infighting over proposed $60 billion in aid to Ukraine. He refrained from giving specific instructions.
Back in February, Tlaib endorsed a campaign spearheaded by his sister to rally Michiganders to prove themselves “irresponsible” in the Feb. 27 Democratic presidential primary. did. Michigan has the highest percentage of Arab Americans of any state in the United States.
More than 100,000 voters in the Wolverine State voted “irresponsible” to protest Biden’s support for Israel.
Representatives for Mr. Waters and Mr. Traib did not respond to requests for comment.
