A US congressman and war hero says Israel should raze Gaza and ‘beat up’ the Palestinians who live there.
Congressman Brian Mast was confronted by pro-Palestinian protesters while walking with his cane through the halls of the United States Capitol and gave them a very forceful response.
Jewish activist Medea Benjamin asked the 12-year US Army veteran, who lost both legs to an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan, if he agreed there should be a ceasefire in Gaza since “the world is asking for it” .
“I think Israel should go in there and kick them, just completely destroy them, their infrastructure, raze everything they touch. Quite clear?’ she responded.
Congressman Brian Mast was confronted by pro-Palestinian protesters while walking with his cane through the halls of the United States Capitol and gave them a very forceful response.
Jewish activist Medea Benjamin asked the 12-year US Army veteran, who lost both legs to an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan, if he agreed there should be a ceasefire in Gaza.
Benjamin and fellow activist Sumer Mobarak harassed another congressman in the Capitol hallway the same day, and Mobarak is trying to get him charged with assault for hitting her phone while she was filming it.
Mast, a Florida Republican, was asked again whether Israel should agree to the ceasefire now that Hamas had backed a proposal from Egypt and Qatar.
‘Did you know? “If there is an American detained, or someone else detained, there should be every expectation that Americans will come and kill them as well,” she responded.
“If there is an American detained, we should go kill the people who are holding him.”
Benjamin asked, ‘Why are you so hateful?’ But Mast insisted that his views were not hateful, but that Palestinian civilians provoked violence.
“These people should not associate with terrorists, they should not vote terrorists into positions like Hamas,” he said, going on to list several Palestinian terrorist groups.
Mast is a 12-year U.S. Army veteran who lost both legs to an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan.
Mast walks with his sons Magnum and Maverick at the US Capitol during the pandemic
“Well, I think you’re a cruel, heartless, heartless man,” said Benjamin. Mast replied: “From you, I will take it as a compliment.”
Benjamin argued that the people who bore the brunt of the invasion and bombing of Gaza were children, but Mast responded: “Just because you say it doesn’t mean it’s true.”
“Let me say this very clearly: I literally do not believe a word you say,” he said.
“Well, I think you’re a cruel, heartless, heartless man,” said Benjamin.
Mast replied: “From you, I’ll take that as a compliment.”
Benjamin also noted that it was Holocaust Remembrance Day and claimed that Israel was carrying out another one against the Palestinians.
She and Mobarak are from Code Pink, which calls itself a “grassroots feminist organization working to end America’s wars and militarism.”
Her Instagram profile shows many other videos of her harassing lawmakers in the hallways of the Capitol, other buildings and on the street.
It is unclear how activists regularly gained access to the Capitol and were able to confront politicians.
Benjamin is a Jewish-American, but is sympathetic to Palestine and critical of war, Zionism, and Israeli government policy. Mobarak is Palestinian-American.
Benjamin is a Jewish-American, but is sympathetic to Palestine and critical of war, Zionism, and Israeli government policy.
Sumer Mobarak (center), a Palestinian-American who frequently ambushes lawmakers on the issue, claims a congressman assaulted her when he turned off her phone while she was harassing him about Gaza at the U.S. Capitol (pictured outside).
The pair harassed Congressman Mike Ezell on the same day as Mast, until he grabbed Mobarak’s phone.
The pair harassed Congressman Mike Ezell on the same day as Mast, until he turned off Mobarak’s phone.
Mobarak then added: ‘Do you want to kill my people, my Palestinian people?’
‘Shut up. Enough is enough,’ Ezell says as the video shows him reaching out and knocking down the phone he was being used to record.
Mobarak said he filed a police report against Ezell, alleging assault. US Capitol Police said they were investigating the incident but had no further comment.
CodePink says on its website that “China is not our enemy” and shares some opinions about the Chinese Communist Party, including its human rights abuses.
The group refers to the Uyghurs, a Muslim minority in China that the government relentlessly persecutes, as terrorists and advocates their mass detention in “re-education” camps.
The Israeli bombing and invasion of Gaza has killed 34,844 Palestinians since it began after the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, according to UN figures.
The Israeli bombing and invasion of Gaza has killed 34,844 Palestinians since it began following the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, according to UN figures.
Palestinian doctors treat a baby injured in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip at the Al Aqsa hospital in Deir al Balah.
Palestinian doctors treat a man injured in the Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip at the Al Aqsa hospital in Deir al Balah.
The victims included 4,959 women and 7,797 children as of May 8, along with 224 aid workers and 97 journalists.
It is difficult to establish exactly how many of the dead are civilians, but it is generally believed to be around 70 percent of the total.
The UN notes that it has “so far been unable to produce independent, comprehensive and verified casualty figures.”
US President Joe Biden is increasingly concerned about the rising death toll and earlier this week demanded he stop the attack.
He said that American bombs have been used to kill civilians in Rafah and that he would suspend further arms shipments to Israel if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched a full-scale invasion.
‘“Civilians have died in Rafah as a result of those bombs and other ways in which they attack population centers,” Biden said in an interview with CNN.
Palestinians inspect destroyed buildings in the Ez-Zawayda area after the Israeli attack in the central part of Gaza against the town of Ez-Zawayda and the Nuseirat refugee camp.
More than a million Palestinian refugees take shelter in tent cities in Rafah, the last Gaza city not invaded by Israel
A Palestinian boy lies in the rubble of a residential building destroyed by an Israeli strike in Al-Zawayda, central Gaza Strip.
‘I made it clear that if they go to Rafah (they have not gone to Rafah yet) I will not provide them with weapons.
The president, last week, delayed the delivery of 3,500 bombs to the United States ally in the Middle East. It was the first time he used his executive power to influence Israel’s approach in its war with Hamas.
More than a million Palestinian refugees are taking shelter in tent cities in Rafah, the last Gaza city not invaded by Israel.
There are fears of massive casualties if Israeli troops enter, as civilians who fled there have nowhere else to go.