{"id":34146,"date":"2024-06-02T21:00:41","date_gmt":"2024-06-03T04:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=34146"},"modified":"2024-06-02T21:00:43","modified_gmt":"2024-06-03T04:00:43","slug":"certainly-crossed-israel-pummels-rafah-as-dems-aim-to-hold-biden-to-red-line","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2024\/06\/02\/certainly-crossed-israel-pummels-rafah-as-dems-aim-to-hold-biden-to-red-line\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Certainly Crossed’: Israel Pummels Rafah as Dems Aim to Hold Biden to ‘Red Line’"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"People<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Palestinians move in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, on May 31, 2024, following an Israeli bombardment of the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0(Photo: Eyad Baba\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Biden “was worried about tanks going into the city, that has already happened,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal said. “He was worried about strikes on dense areas, that has already happened.”<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

EDWARD CARVER<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

May 31, 2024 (CommonDreams.org)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Israeli forces moved into central Rafah in the southern Gaza<\/a> Strip by Friday as Democrats urged U.S. President Joe Biden to uphold his promise to halt some weapons shipments to Israel<\/a> if it invaded the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Israeli commandos, backed by tanks and artillery, occupied central Rafah after taking control of the Philadelphi Corridor, an 8-mile border zone between Gaza and Egypt. Satellite imagery showed that Israeli tanks and military vehicles could be seen in central and western Rafah, The New York Times<\/em>reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Israeli entry into central Rafah follows a week of airstrikes in the area that have killed<\/a> many dozens of Palestinian civilians, prompting international outcry. It’s also led to a dire shortage of food and medical supplies as humanitarian corridors close and relief groups leave the city, which had been a refuge for displaced Palestinians throughout much of the war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Progressives responded by declaring that Biden’s “red line” on Rafah has been definitively crossed and demanding an end to military support<\/a> for Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It absolutely has crossed the red line, perhaps even before this,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal<\/a> (D-Wash.), the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, told<\/a>The Hill <\/em>on Friday. “I am frustrated by the reluctance to hold Netanyahu accountable… And I see this as dragging the United States into Netanyahu’s war.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“[Biden] was worried about people being displaced; that has already happened, a million people have already been displaced,” Jayapal added. “He was worried about tanks going into the city, that has already happened. He was worried about strikes on dense areas, that [has] already happened.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“So I really don’t know what the red line is anymore because it feels fairly clear that this has certainly crossed the red line, and anything more than this would be a complete devastation of people, and at that point, it’s too late,” she added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other progressives, including members of the left-wing “Squad” in the U.S. House of Representatives, took similarly strong positions this week as news from the massacres in Rafah came in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez<\/a> (D-N.Y.) wrote<\/a> on social media on Monday that the Israel’s tent massacre the previous night already represented “open defiance” of Biden’s red line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“How many children have to die?,” Rep. Jamaal Bowman<\/a> (D-N.Y.) wrote<\/a> on social media Tuesday. “We’re past the red line. It’s time to stop sending military aid to Israel. Not one more dime.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Members of the Squad were not the only Democrats to voice their frustration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“All the things that President Biden was worried about have come to pass,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said<\/a> Wednesday in an interview with CNN<\/em>. “The United States needs to get a full and clear commitment from the Netanyahu government on their plans going forward before we continue to shovel more offensive military assistance to the Netanyahu government.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The United States can no longer just be a blank check for the Netanyahu government,” Van Hollen added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThe United States can no longer just be a blank cheque for the Netanyahu government\u201d. With the Biden administration facing mounting criticism over its support for Israel\u2019s war in Gaza, Senator @ChrisVanHollen<\/a> tells me why he believes its time to change tack pic.twitter.com\/xsmvpc5bDR<\/a><\/p>— Christiane Amanpour (@amanpour) May 29, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote>