‘We Must Act Now’: Tlaib Introduces Pair of Bills to Block US Support For Israel’s Lebanon Invasion
Original article by Stephen Prager republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
“We are witnessing the same genocidal playbook used against Palestinians in Gaza, now in Lebanon,” Rep. Rashida Tlaib said.
As Israel ramps up its devastating invasion of Lebanon, Rep. Rashida Tlaib has introduced legislation in the US House of Representatives aimed at blocking US support.
Israel’s latest onslaught against Lebanon, launched after the militant group Hezbollah retaliated against the joint US-Israeli attack against Iran at the end of February, has already killed more than 1,100 people, including at least 121 children, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.
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Many pieces of civilian infrastructure—including hospitals, schools, and residential buildings—have been attacked, and Israel has issued forced evacuation orders that have led more than 1 million people to be displaced from their homes.
“Thousands of families in our district with strong ties to Lebanon are living through immense pain,” said Tlaib, who represents a district that includes parts of Detroit and surrounding suburbs. “Many have lost loved ones, watched their grandparents’ towns and villages be completely destroyed, and seen relatives uprooted from their homes, not knowing if they will ever be able to return.”
Tlaib (D-Mich.), the only Palestinian-American member of Congress, introduced two resolutions on Friday. The first calls on the US to use its leverage to end Israel’s land and air assaults against Lebanese territory, denounce efforts at territorial expansion, and investigate alleged crimes against humanity.
The second, cosponsored by Reps. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.) and Nydia Velázquez (D-NY), is a war powers resolution that would require President Donald Trump to remove US forces from participation in all military actions in Lebanon that have not been authorized by Congress.
In recent days, Israel has expanded its ground operation, aiming to control the entire territory south of the Litani River indefinitely. Leaders of the military campaign, such as Defense Minister Israel Katz, have suggested using the genocidal war in Gaza as a “model” for Lebanon, including the full destruction of residential areas.
“We are witnessing the same genocidal playbook used against Palestinians in Gaza, now in Lebanon,” Tlaib said. “Israeli leaders are openly celebrating it. This ethnic cleansing campaign is only possible because of US support, funded by our tax dollars. We must act now to stop these crimes against humanity and illegal invasion of Lebanon.”
Nathan Thompson, a senior analyst at Just Foreign Policy, which advised Tlaib on the legislation, told Common Dreams that although the US military and Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are “deeply operationally integrated, and have only become more so since October 7, 2023,” the extent of direct US involvement in Lebanon has been kept secret from the public.
“Military officials wouldn’t say whether or not they provided targeting assistance for Israel’s airstrikes on Hezbollah in 2024, and that’s exactly the type of action Congress has considered to be unauthorized ‘hostilities’ under the War Powers Act in the past,” Thompson said.
However, he said, “We know that the IDF and the US military are linked at the hip—on weapons sales, missile defense, targeting assistance, everything.”
Tlaib’s resolutions come as another war powers resolution to limit Trump’s ability to launch more attacks against Iran appears to have gained enough support to pass the House, although Democratic leadership has chosen to delay the vote until mid-April despite warnings that Trump may soon dramatically escalate the war, including with US ground troops.
That bill remains viable due to limited Republican support, including from Reps. Thomas Massie (Ky.), Warren Davidson (Ohio), and Nancy Mace (SC). While Massie has been a consistent anti-war vote, it’s unclear whether other Republicans, as well as some pro-Israel Democrats, would similarly sign onto a resolution concerning Lebanon.
Thompson said the Lebanon-related legislation is an “urgently necessary tool to end US complicity” as Israeli officials are “talking about functionally annexing southern Lebanon and recreating Gaza-level destruction there.”
He said, “A war powers vote forces all of Congress to go on the record: Do you want the US to enable this genocide, or not?”
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