Tlaib Says Biden Must ‘Hold Israel Accountable’ for Raid on Palestinian Rights Groups

U.S. Rep Rashida Tlaib on Friday urged the Biden administration to “hold Israel accountable” after the country’s forces raided and shuttered the offices of seven Palestinian human rights groups in the occupied West Bank, a move that drew international outrage.

“Exactly 100 days since an Israeli sniper assassinated American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, the apartheid government moved to shut down seven human rights organizations at the core in fighting for the lives, liberties, and freedoms of millions of Palestinians,” Tlaib (D-Mich.), the first Palestinian-American woman ever elected to the U.S. Congress, said in a statement.

“These acts are a direct result of the Biden administration’s complete failure to defend Palestinian human rights against racism and ethnic cleansing,” Tlaib continued. “The silence by our country is enabling more death and violence. We must hold Israel accountable.”

In the early hours of Thursday morning, Israeli soldiers stormed the West Bank offices of Al-Haq, Addameer, the Bisan Center, Defense for Children International-Palestine (DCI-P), the Union of Agricultural Works Committees (UAWC), the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees (UPWC), and the Union of Health Workers Committees, groups that have been deemed unlawful by the Israeli government on unsubstantiated “terrorism” accusations.

Earlier this year, United Nations human rights experts said Israel’s “disturbing” claims against the groups have “not been accompanied by any public concrete and credible evidence.”

“We note that the information presented by Israel has also failed to convince a number of governments and international organizations,” the experts added.

Tlaib observed in her statement Friday that Israeli forces raided and ransacked offices who “provide medical services to countless people throughout occupied Palestine, where the apartheid government of Israel routinely denies them care solely because they are Palestinian.”

“They document human rights abuses against children and civilians no matter who commits them. There is no excuse for the Israeli government’s actions,” said Tlaib. “No matter the lies invented to justify this ridiculous attack against human rights defenders, this campaign will not succeed because countless Palestinians, Israelis, Americans, and people all around the world are increasingly seeing the reality of apartheid Israel’s treatment of Palestinians.”

“I call on the White House to denounce this unwarranted aggression against Palestinian civil society,” the lawmaker continued, “and take action to reverse this decision.”

During a press briefing on Thursday, U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said the Biden administration is “concerned” about the Israeli raids and closure of Palestinian human rights offices, but he did not explicitly condemn the government’s actions.

Originally published at Commondreams.org.