Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib tore into U.S. policy toward Israel in an intense tarmac conversation with President Joe Biden Tuesday, bluntly telling him Palestinian rights are not a 'bargaining chip.'
The 'squad' member delivered the stark lecture directly to the president as a number of congressional Democrats are pushing Biden to put more public pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
'Palestinian human rights are not a bargaining chip and must be protected, not negotiated,' Tlaib told him, according to her congressional office.
'The U.S. cannot continue to give the right-wing Netanyahu government billions each year to commit crimes against Palestinians,' she continued, an aide told NPR.
'Palestinian human rights are not a bargaining chip and must be protected, not negotiated,' Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib told President Joe Biden during an intense tarmac conversation Tuesday, according to her congressional office.
'Atrocities like bombing schools cannot be tolerated, much less conducted with U.S.-supplied weapons.'
Biden could be seen speaking to Tlaib in an intense eight-minute conversation on the tarmac in Detroit, where he flew to tour a Ford plant Tuesday.
He acknowledged her later when he gave a speech at the plant, telling her: 'You're a fighter, and God thank you for being a fighter.'
The last White House readout of a phone call between Biden and Netanyahu said he expressed his 'support' for a cease fire, but stopped short of saying he demanded an immediate one, as many Democrats are calling for.
Biden is facing political pressure to do more, even amid signals out of Israel that it is looking for the 'right moment' to pull back attacks on Hamas targets in Gaza.
Israel is studying whether the time is right to stop its bombing campaign in cause, but is preparing for 'more days' of strikes, AFP reported, citing an Israeli military source.
'We are looking at when is the right moment for a ceasefire,' said the source.
Amid growing pressure from fellow Democrats, the Administration leaked Tuesday that Biden had told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he could only hold off criticism of its strikes in Gaza for a limited period of time. The New York Times reported on the tougher private tone Biden took after the White House said only that he had expressed 'support' for a cease fire.
Some House Democrats are demanding a call for an immediate cease fire.
The issue could rear its head again as Biden prepares to deliver his first commencement address as president to Coast Guard Academy graduates Wednesday.
Biden flies to New London, Connecticut to deliver the speech Wednesday morning. Presidents deliver graduation to the service academies on a rotating basis.
Palestinian-American Tlaib has been critical of Biden's handling of the violence between Israel and Hamas in the Middle East.
On Twitter on Monday night she blasted Biden's support of Netanyahu who 'commits war crimes and openly violates international law.'
Biden has called for a cease fire in the region as the battle between Israel and Hamas enters day nine. The pair met after president touched down in Air Force One ahead of a trip to visit a Ford electric truck plant and tout his $2.3billion infrastructure plan.
While he has been pushing his big government spending spree, his administration has been dealing with the conflict in the Middle East, which has killed over 200 people and sparked a humanitarian crisis.
Biden shook the hand of Tlaib, the only Palestinian member of Congress who has family in the region, and the two engaged in a long conversation - out of earshot of cameras and with staff looking on. At one point Biden put his face mask on as he prepared to get into the presidential motorcade and then continued to speak to Tlaib.
During his remarks later in the day, Biden praised the congresswoman and shared his concerns for her relatives - including her 90-year-old grandmother and uncle - living in the small West Bank village of Beit Ur Al-Fauqa.
'I admire your intellect, I admire your passion, I admire your compassion and I admire your concern for so many other people,' Biden said. 'I pray that your grandmom and family are well on the West Bank,' he added. 'You're a fighter.'
President Biden, with his arm around Rep. Debbie Dingell, spoke with Rep. Rashida Tlaib upon his arrival in Michigan to visit a Ford auto factory as he pushes his infrastructure deal
President Joe Biden shakes hands with Rep. Rashida Tlaib as he arrives in Michigan
Rep. Rashida Tlaib, seen with Rep. Debbie Dingell, declined to say what she and President Biden spoke about in their conversation
President Biden puts on his face mask as he prepares to get into the motorcade
Rep. Rashida Tlaib has been critical of President Joe Biden's support for Israel; Rep. Debbie Dingell told reporters on the ground the three spoke of a lot of things
Democratic Rep. Debbie Dingell was also there and told reporters on the ground the group talked about 'a lot of things.' Tlaib, a member of a progressive group of Democratic lawmakers known as 'The Squad,' didn't say anything.
Biden later toured the factory in Dearborn and got the chance to test drive Ford's new F-150 Lightning electric truck. He said: 'This sucker's quick' and said he would crank up the speed to 80mph.
On Monday, Tlaib told MSNBC that Biden's administration and other Democrats were 'taking orders from Netanyahu, who is on corruption charges from stealing from his own people, the people he's supposed to be representing.'
'Enough, President Biden,' Tlaib said. 'You will not do this on our watch. You have to speak out against this violence in a very aggressive way that holds Netanyahu and his leadership accountable.'
Dingell is the widow of the late Rep. John Dingell, who was a close friend of Biden's. She garnered a hug from the president.
On Monday night, Biden called for a cease fire in the Middle East but the bombardment continues.
Meanwhile, in a gaggle with reporters on Air Force One, Jen Psaki slammed Donald Trump's handling of situation in the Middle East and called his Abraham Accords, for which Trump and Jared Kushner were nominated for a Noble Peace Prize, 'dead on arrival.'
'We are not following the same tactics of the prior administration,' the White House press secretary said when asked repeatedly about the administration's role in the conflict.
'We felt there not a constructive action by the prior administration, aside from putting forward a peace proposal that was dead on arrival,' Psaki said. 'We don't think they did anything constructive really to bring it into the long standing conflict in the Middle East.'
A total of 212 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, including 61 children, since the conflict started last Monday. The IDF says that figure includes 120 members of Hamas and 25 members of Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
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