[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 60 (Tuesday, April 9, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H2148-H2149]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               WE NEED PEACE BETWEEN ISRAEL AND PALESTINE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Wisconsin (Mr. Pocan) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. POCAN. Mr. Speaker, I have been attending town halls and meetings 
across my district for the last 2 weeks in smaller communities in 
Wisconsin like Edgerton, Sauk City, Monroe, Mazomanie, and Darlington. 
These are communities with hardworking people that have a strong work 
ethic and upper Midwestern values like fairness and compassion.
  At those meetings, Mr. Speaker, I have heard a common thread: They 
don't like what they are seeing in Gaza and Israel. The vast majority 
recognize that the attack on October 7 was horrific and Israel had a 
right to respond, but they didn't have a right to collectively punish 
2.3 million people stuck in Gaza.
  They know that 1,200 people are dead in Israel from the attack and 
over 130 people are still being held by Hamas. However, they also know 
that nearly 34,000 people are dead in Gaza, 70 percent of which are 
women and children, clearly not members of Hamas.
  They know that 2 million people have been displaced in Gaza and the 
majority of the buildings and infrastructure have been demolished or 
damaged by Israeli bombs. They know that the people are dying of 
starvation because almost every entry point to Gaza is through Israel 
and not enough supplies and aid are getting through.
  They understand that the United States is trying to help with aid, 
but we have to drop it from the air or bring it in by sea because our 
friend Israel won't allow us to bring it in through easier, safer ways 
like by truck and transport.
  They know that aid workers are being killed, 200 plus to date, 
including some from Chef Jose Andres' World Central Kitchen. The 
limited food, water, and supplies that are being let in have to be 
distributed, but aid workers are too often killed in the process of 
delivering humanitarian aid, making alleviating suffering even more 
difficult.
  They don't understand how we can provide both armaments and aid to 
the same area, as that doesn't make sense to people with Midwestern 
sensibilities.
  They tell me it looks like punishment for being Palestinian. They 
tell me it appears Benjamin Netanyahu wants people to leave Gaza for 
good. They tell me it looks too much like what genocide would look 
like, and that concerns them greatly.
  The bombings of the World Central Kitchen workers, the seemingly 
targeted and repeated bombings, despite the Israeli military knowing 
their location and purpose, has been one more step too far by the 
Netanyahu government's handling of this war.
  Enough is enough.
  The indiscriminate killing must stop. The aid must flow. The hostages 
must be released and a cease-fire must hold to protect every child in 
Gaza and Israel.
  The devastation has been severe, far more severe than it ever needed 
to be. The world would have understood a response going after Hamas 
killers, but the Netanyahu government has gone too far, way too far in 
its response.
  That is why I helped lead a letter signed by 56 Members of Congress 
to the President to stop any additional offensive arms transfers to 
Israel without a thorough investigation of the World Central Kitchen 
killings and a plan for aid and assistance to get to starving 
Palestinians.
  The United States has long supported two nations existing side by 
side in peace, a two-state solution, but Benjamin Netanyahu doesn't 
support that reasoned path to peace. And that, along with his punishing 
innocent Palestinians while allegedly going after Hamas, has made it 
time to get a divorce from Benjamin Netanyahu.

  I support the overwhelming majority of Israelis who want peace. They 
want to live safely without bombs raining on them from extremists in 
Gaza. They too don't like the direction and mistakes of the Netanyahu 
administration, and they want the hostages returned immediately.

[[Page H2149]]

  The overwhelming majority of Palestinians want peace, as well. They 
just want to live their lives with dignity and independence as they 
should, but they need to be treated as equals with human rights, which 
too often they are not.
  I urge our government to do more to help distribute aid, utilizing 
great groups like the World Central Kitchen, UNWRA, and so many others 
that are doing this work. Our government must stop supplying any 
offensive weapons or equipment that damages Gaza further, especially in 
regard to any invasion of Rafah.
  Let's take this awful, current situation and make some good out of 
it. We need to double down on a two-state solution that recognizes the 
many, many good people of Israel and Palestine that want to live in 
peace. It is achievable, and the United States is crucial to that 
peace. That is what I am hearing in my district.

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