Several American lawmakers are joining a boycott of an upcoming speech by Israeli President Isaac Herzog at the US Congress, citing concerns over the atrocities and human rights violations committed against Palestinians by the occupying regime.
The latest member of the US Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) to skip Herzog’s address is Cori Bush, a Democratic representative from Missouri. This brings the total number of boycotting lawmakers to four.
Taking to Twitter, Bush expressed her stance, stating that the Israeli regime enforces an apartheid system and flagrantly abuses the rights of Palestinians. She emphasized that the US Congress should not provide a platform to a president who shows no regard for human rights.
CPC members have been consistent critics of the occupying regime’s policies on the House floor. Ilhan Omar, an African American congresswoman, was the first to announce her decision to boycott Herzog’s speech, declaring on Twitter that she had no intention of attending.
Following Omar’s lead, other CPC members, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jamaal Bowman, also chose to boycott the event.
Herzog’s visit to the White House is scheduled for July 18, followed by his address to Congress the next day, commemorating the 75th anniversary of the occupying regime’s establishment.
In 2019, the Israeli regime had barred Omar and Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib from visiting the occupied territories due to their support for Palestinian rights and their membership in an anti-Israel caucus.
Prominent human rights organizations around the world have raised concerns that the Israeli regime is increasingly adopting an apartheid system, granting Palestinians second-class status and seeking to maintain Zionist hegemony from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.
Under the extremist coalition cabinet of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, composed of far-right Zionist parties that oppose Palestinian statehood and support the expansion of illegal settlements, the oppression of Palestinians by the Israeli regime has escalated.
In recent months, there has been a surge in Israeli attacks on Palestinian towns and cities throughout the occupied territories, resulting in numerous Palestinian deaths and arrests. Nablus and Jenin in the occupied West Bank have been particularly targeted, as the regime seeks to suppress a growing Palestinian resistance against the occupation.
One of the aims of these Israeli raids is the destruction of Palestinian structures, with the regime accusing Palestinians of killing Zionist settlers. In 2023 alone, more than 160 Palestinians, including 28 children, have lost their lives, and numerous others have been arrested as a consequence of these attacks.
Source: Websites (edited by Al-Manar English Website)
