Posted on 09/03/24
| News Source: Arutz-7
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), a member of the 'Squad,' appeared to blame Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the deaths of Israeli hostages who were kidnapped and executed by the Hamas terrorist organization.
In a post to X on Monday, Jayapal welcomed the strike declared by Israel's national labor union and protests calling for the Israeli government to do more to secure the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza.
"Today’s labor strike & protests are extremely important. Netanyahu has no interest in a ceasefire — he’s prioritized his own political survival while sacrificing hostages & tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians," Jayapal wrote. "The US must use the entirety of our leverage to end this war."
Her comments came as the six hostages who were executed by their Hamas captors last week, including American citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin, were being laid to rest. Autopsies revealed that the hostages were executed with multiple gunshots at point-plank range on Thursday or Friday, shortly before their bodies were found and recovered on Saturday. In addition, she did not mention Hamas, the organization that actually murdered the hostages.
Jayapal has a history of anti-Israel statements, In July 2023, she called Israel a “racist state,” before walking her statement back and claiming she was only referring to Netanyahu.
In February 2024, Jayapal and fellow Squad member Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) made a secret visit to Cuba. Both Congresswomen oppose the 60-year-old US embargo against Cuba and have supported legislation to lift the embargo.