“We now find ourselves at a critical inflection point: we can either leverage diplomacy to de-escalate tensions and push for peace, or we can stand idly by as this spirals into a broader regional conflict that will result in more loss of life…”

“Make no mistake: history will remember this moment as a genocide.”

Video (YouTube)

WASHINGTON – Today, in a floor speech on the House floor, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) called for urgent de-escalation in the Middle East and renewed her calls for a ceasefire in Gaza to prevent a broader regional war. The Congresswoman’s remarks come at a time of rising tensions in the Middle East, following the Iranian military’s attack on Israel as well as the Israeli military’s attack on the Iranian consulate in Syria.

Since the horrific October 7^th attack, Congresswoman Pressley has consistently and stridently called for a ceasefire to save lives, return all hostages, and surge humanitarian aid to Gaza. To date, nearly 34,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli airstrikes and over 100 hostages are still held captive by Hamas in Gaza.

A transcript of the Congresswoman’s remarks is available below and the full video is available here.

Transcript: In Floor Speech, Pressley Urges De-Escalation in Middle East, Renews Call for Ceasefire
U.S. House of Representatives
April 17, 2024

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call attention to the massacre of the Palestinian people and the urgent need to de-escalate the Middle East.

For months now, after the brutal attack on October 7th, the world has watched in horror as the crisis in Gaza has worsened daily.

Today, less than two hundred days later, nearly 34,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces.

Every day that goes by without a ceasefire is another day that Palestinians are subjected to violence, starvation, death, and destruction.

And every day that we do not de-escalate the region, more lives are put at risk.

Mr. Speaker, I condemn the Iranian military’s attack on Israel and I condemn the Israeli military’s attack on the Iranian consulate in Syria. 

These escalations are dangerous. And we now find ourselves at a critical inflection point.

We can either leverage diplomacy to de-escalate tensions and push for peace, or we can stand idly by as this spirals into a broader regional conflict that will result in more loss of life – Palestinian, Israeli, and American.

We must de-escalate. And facilitating a lasting ceasefire in the region is the only path forward.

Some of my colleagues seem all too willing to rush into an endless war with Iran and continue providing a blank check to the Israeli military.

Right now, Palestinians in Gaza are being starved, bombed, tortured and executed.

Generations of Palestinian families have been wiped out. Over 2 million are displaced from homes that have been razed to the ground.

Make no mistake: history will remember this moment as a genocide. 

We cannot bomb our way to peace, and the U.S. must stop using our tax dollars to arm the Israeli military with more bombs and bullets. The same bombs and bullets that have been used to kill over 14,000 children in Gaza.

Shameful.

It’s why we see momentum across the globe in support of a ceasefire. 

Millions are marching peacefully in the streets. 

A ceasefire is the mandate.

A ceasefire to surge humanitarian aid.

A ceasefire to bring all the hostages home.

A ceasefire to save lives.

We will never be silent in the face of injustice. 

Ceasefire now.

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Throughout this conflict, Rep. Pressley has been a vocal and consistent advocate of diplomacy, de-escalation, and saving lives.

• Rep. Pressley joined Congresswoman Haley Stevens (D-MI) and their colleagues on a resolution condemning Hamas’ brutal attack and hostage-taking, and demanding Hamas immediately release all hostages.
• Rep. Pressley joined Reps. Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Mark Pocan (WI-02), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), James P. McGovern (MA-02), and 50 colleagues on a letter condemning the terrorist attacks by Hamas on the people of Israel, calling for Israeli military operations to follow the rules of international humanitarian law, and continuing to work toward peace in the region.
• Rep. Pressley joined her colleagues in announcing a resolution urging the Biden Administration to call for an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire in Israel and Gaza, to send humanitarian aid and assistance to Gaza, and to save as many lives as possible. She later joined her colleagues and a multi-faith, multiracial coalition of faith leaders and organizers for a prayer and press conference to renew their calls for a ceasefire. Rep. Pressley also joined dozens of rabbis and Members of Congress for a press conference to renew calls for a ceasefire in Gaza.
• Rep. Pressley delivered a floor speech in which she condemned antisemitism, Islamophobia, and all forms of hate on college campuses.
• Rep. Pressley joined a coalition of nearly 100 interfaith clergy and faith leaders on a joint statement on Martin Luther King Jr. Day calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
• Rep. Pressley joined Reps. Grace Meng (D-NY), Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), and nearly 150 colleagues in urging the State Department to use all tools at its disposal help get Americans out of Israel and back home to the United States. She applauded the State Department for heeding her calls on October 12, 2023 and continues to press for the urgent evacuation of Americans in Gaza.
• Rep. Pressley issued a statement following the safe evacuation of Massachusetts constituents Wafaa and Abood Okal and their one-year-old Yousef from Gaza.
• Rep. Pressley and Rep. Jamie Raskin led a group of 60 House lawmakers in urging the State Department to affirm the United States’ strong opposition to the forced and permanent displacement of Palestinians from Gaza, and to support an increase in humanitarian aid to the region.
• Rep. Pressley joined Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Mark Pocan (WI-2), Betty McCollum (MN-4) and 20 of their colleagues in sending a letter to President Biden, asking him to support a bilateral ceasefire in Gaza to protect the one million children living there.
• Rep. Pressley joined a coalition of interfaith clergy and faith leaders for a vigil to mourn the tens of thousands of Palestinians, Israelis, and innocent civilians killed since October 7^th, and to renew calls for a ceasefire to save lives, return all hostages, and deliver humanitarian aid to the region.
• Rep. Pressley joined her colleagues at a press conference to condemn the Israeli government’s pending invasion of Rafah and continued her calls for a ceasefire in Gaza.
• Rep. Pressley joined her colleagues in calling for full funding of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) to provide urgent humanitarian relief to Gaza.
• Rep. Pressley joined Representatives Joaquín Castro, Jamie Raskin, Jan Schakowsky and 33 House Democrats to President Biden urging him to prevent an Israeli ground invasion of Rafah.

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