Rashida Tlaib demands release of Palestinian ‘political prisoners’

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) voted in favor of a resolution calling for the release of Israeli hostages captured by Hamas but also called for “arbitrarily detained” Palestinians to be released from Israel.

Tlaib joined most of her fellow members of the “Squad” in voting in favor of the resolution calling for the release of hostages but voted “present” on a resolution that reaffirmed “the State of Israel’s right to exist.”

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“Every innocent civilian should be released and reunited with their family, no matter their faith or ethnicity. I will continue to call for the release of all hostages, as well as the innocent Palestinians who were arbitrarily detained and being held by the Israeli government indefinitely without charge or trial,” Tlaib said in a statement on the resolution calling on hostages to be released.

“I support the release of Israeli civilians and ask my colleagues to demand the same for Palestinian civilians being held by Israeli forces without charge or trial,” she added. “Their failure to do so demonstrates their refusal to view Palestinians as equal human beings who deserve the same rights, freedom, and human dignity.”

The Michigan Democrat slammed the resolution regarding Israel’s right to exist as falling “short” of recognizing the “existence of the Palestinian people.”

“Both Israelis and Palestinians have the right to live with democracy, safety, peace, and human dignity. This resolution that ignores the existence of the Palestinian people brings us no closer to peaceful coexistence,” Tlaib said in a statement. “It’s important to recognize that Palestinians also have a right to coexist with Israelis in their historic homeland, with equal rights and freedom, rather than living under racial segregation or being subjugated as second-class citizens. This resolution falls short of that.”

She also claimed Israel was carrying out an “illegal occupation and apartheid” and said the House resolution was a “one-sided attempt to rewrite history.”

“Israel does not have a right to carry out illegal occupation and apartheid — which will never lead to a just and lasting peace. Unfortunately, this resolution is a one-sided attempt to rewrite history, contributes to the ongoing erasure of Palestinians by not even acknowledging their existence, and fails to recognize the historical and ongoing Nakba in which countless Palestinians have been and are actively being killed, displaced, and driven from their homes,” she said.

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The resolution calling for the hostages to be released passed 414-0 in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, while the resolution reaffirming “the State of Israel’s right to exist” passed 412-1, with Tlaib the one present vote.

The one “nay” vote on the resolution regarding Israel’s right to exist was by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), who claimed the resolution was “not helpful” for equating anti-Zionism with antisemitism.