Ilhan Omar slams Blinken’s 'humiliation' after his trip to Israel ends without Gaza cease-fire deal

By Rabia Iclal Turan

WASHINGTON (AA) - Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar blasted on Wednesday the “humiliation” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken endured during his recent trip to Israel, where he failed to secure a breakthrough for a Gaza cease-fire deal.

"Now ask yourselves, how does our Secretary of State travel 11 times begging for an end to a situation that we truly have continued to provide the bombs and the weapons that are creating that situation," the Minnesota representative told the “Uncommitted” movement's press conference in Chicago, Illinois, where thousands of delegates gathered for the Democratic National Convention (DNC).

"How do we allow our Secretary of State to go into Israel and say we are close to securing a cease-fire now for the 11th time, to leave for Egypt, only for Bibi Netanyahu to have a press conference right after him and say we are not taking a deal?” she said, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“How are we not ashamed that that is the humiliation that our administration's representatives are faced with?

"It's not just the hypocrisy of saying we respect international law, but humiliation," she added.

Omar also criticized the Biden administration for "refusing to recognize the genocidal war" that is taking place in Gaza, adding: "Working tirelessly for a cease-fire is really not a thing, and they should be ashamed of themselves for saying such thing, because we supply these weapons."

"So if you really want a cease-fire, you just stop sending the weapons," she added.

Speaking at the same event, Missouri Representative Cori Bush, who lost the Democratic primary to challenger St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell, who was backed by pro-Israel lobby groups, called on her Democratic colleagues to uphold their values.

Bush said that over 40,000 men, women and children in Gaza have been killed by "weapons that we the United States have manufactured and paid for.”

"Millions of people starving in this place while facing the continued dropping of bombs that the United States has paid for," she said. "They question us about why we stand, and why we keep talking and marching and crying and pushing and demanding, and the bombs keep dropping and they're not listening."

Blinken ended his ninth trip to the Middle East since Oct. 7 following stops in Qatar, Egypt and Israel without achieving a breakthrough in the Gaza cease-fire talks.

He said Monday while in Israel that Netanyahu accepted a "bridging proposal" presented by the US, Qatar and Egypt last week following the latest round of talks in Doha, Qatar.

However, Israeli media reported comments from Netanyahu just hours after Blinken's remarks saying that Israel will not withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor on the Gaza-Egypt border or the Netzarim Corridor, which divides the Gaza Strip into two parts, “under any circumstances.”

The US, Egypt and Qatar announced last week following cease-fire talks in Doha that they had presented Israel and Hamas with what they called a "bridging proposal" to further narrow "remaining gaps in the manner that allows for a swift implementation of the deal."

Hamas criticized the proposal, claiming it merely aligns with Netanyahu's conditions, including his refusal of a permanent cease-fire, of a complete withdrawal from Gaza, and his insistence on continuing the occupation of the Netzarim Corridor, the Rafah border crossing and the Philadelphi Corridor.

Biden said in May that Israel presented a three-phase deal that would end hostilities in Gaza and secure the release of hostages held in the coastal enclave. The plan includes a cease-fire, a hostage-prisoner exchange, the Israeli military’s withdrawal from Gaza, a surge in aid and a permanent end to hostilities.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip following an attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas last Oct. 7, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

The conflict has resulted in over 40,170 Palestinian deaths, mostly women and children, and more than 92,740 injuries, according to local health authorities.

An ongoing blockade of Gaza has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine, leaving much of the region in ruins.

Israel faces accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered a halt to military operations in the southern city of Rafah, where over one million Palestinians had sought refuge before the area was invaded on May 6.