Rashida Tlaib: “I thank my good colleague from California for yielding me time. I want to say how absolutely unconscionable it is that…”

“I thank my good colleague from California for yielding me time. I want to say how absolutely unconscionable it is that my colleagues are offering an amendment to prevent our U.S. Government from even citing the Palestinian death toll. Since 1948, Mr. Chair, there has been a coordinated effort, especially in this Chamber, to dehumanize Palestinians and erase Palestinians from existence. The ethnic cleansing of Palestinians did not end in 1948. Today, Mr. Chair, we are recognizing the Israeli apartheid government carry out a genocide in Gaza in real time. This amendment is an attempt to hide it. Let me remind you all of the words of the Israeli Defense Minister who said: ``We are imposing a complete siege on Gaza. No electricity, no food, no water, no fuel. Everything is closed. We are fighting human animals.'' They don't even see Palestinians as human beings, Mr. Chair. Here we are, my colleagues wanting to prohibit our own U.S. officials from even citing the Palestinian death toll. Let me read into the Record the latest casualties of Palestinians killed: 37,718 Palestinians, including more than 15,000 Palestinian children. More than 86,377 Palestinians have been injured. Six children, Mr. Chair, are killed in Gaza every single hour. Palestinians are not just numbers. Behind these numbers are real people--mothers, fathers, sons, daughters--who have had their lives stolen from them and their families torn apart, and we should not be trying to hide it.…”