Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) tripled down on her comments regarding Israel and the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital explosion.
Tlaib was quick to blame the Israeli Air Force for a blast in the parking lot of a Gaza hospital in which nearly 1,000 people were crowded. However, in the aftermath of the strike, U.S. and Israeli officials said evidence suggested Israel was not to blame for the blast.
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National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said on Oct. 18 that while the agency continues to collect information, “Our current assessment, based on analysis of overhead imagery, intercepts, and open-source information, is that Israel is not responsible for the explosion at the hospital in Gaza yesterday.”
IDF spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari also said on Oct. 18 that Hamas knew the strike came from Gaza and inflated the casualty count to hide what happened.
“According to our intelligence, Hamas checked the reports, understood it was an Islamic Jihad rocket that had misfired, and decided to launch a global media campaign to hide what really happened,” he said. “They went as far as inflating the number of casualties. They understood, with absolute certainty, that it was a rocket misfired by Islamic Jihad that damaged the hospital.”
Other congressional Democrats, such as Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), have walked back their statements in which they condemned Israel. Tlaib, however, refused to abandon her claims on the bombing, and on Monday, she released a statement critical of Israel despite heavy bipartisan backlash.
“Media outlets and third-party analysts have raised doubts about claims and evidence offered by both Israel and the Gaza Ministry of Health, and I agree with the United Nations that an independent investigation is necessary,” she said.
“I cannot uncritically accept Israel’s denials of responsibility as fact, especially in light of confirmation from the World Health Organization that Israel has bombed numerous medical facilities in Gaza and reports from the Palestinian Red Crescent Society of ongoing threats from the Israeli military to evacuate hospitals,” Tlaib continued.
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“Both the Israeli and United States governments have long, documented histories of misleading the public about wars and war crimes — like last year’s Israeli military assassination of Shireen Abu Akleh and the false claims of weapons of mass destruction that led our country into the Iraq War — and cannot clear themselves of responsibility without an independent international investigation. This debate should not distract us from the urgent need for a ceasefire to save innocent civilian lives,” she added.
Tlaib’s comments have prompted people to accuse her of antisemitism and call for her to resign. The outcry has come largely from Republicans, but it has also come from some within her party.
