Thursday on the House floor, Republican Rep. Brian Mast blasted Rep. Ilhan Omar‘s claims that Israel’s airstrikes “are an act of terrorism.”
Mast took to the House floor to address Omar’s recent condemnation of Israel in which she accused the Jewish state of terrorism, saying, “Palestinians deserve protection,” and “[u]nlike Israel, missile defense programs, such as Iron Dome, don’t exist to protect Palestinian civilians.”
Mast began by pointing out that “our friends are under attack,” and that “under attack is the most important part to realize here… In one of her statements about this very event, she said, ‘Israel airstrikes killing civilians in Gaza is an act of terrorism. Palestinians deserve protection.’”
Quoting Omar about the Iron Dome not protecting Palestinians, he noted, “That’s absolutely right. Palestinians don’t receive support like Iron Dome.” Giving the Iron Dome to Israel’s enemy’s would be like “giving al-Qaeda, or ISIS, or the Taliban U.S. bomb technicians and military personnel to help them out.”
Noting that Hamas “purposefully makes their civilians the shields to their offensive points,” Mast added that he would “let the American people judge who’s the aggressor here.” He went on to describe the number and intensity of Palestinian rocket attacks over the last few years.
Sen. Ted Cruz has also said Omar seems to be “acting as the press secretary for Hamas.”