The View hosts scold Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib for Israel response

Democrat congresswomen Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar should be ashamed of rushing to blame Israel for the Gaza hospital attack, The View co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin (pictured left) said on Wednesday. The pair – the first female Muslims elected to Congress, and two of only three Muslims in Congress – both seized on reports of the Gaza strike, and said Israel was to blame.

The Pentagon has analyzed the explosion and concluded it was a Palestinian-launched rocket, intended for Israel, which misfired and hit the hospital. Griffin said Tlaib (pictured left) and Omar helped convince the leaders of Palestine, Jordan and Egypt to cancel their meeting with Biden, planned for Wednesday afternoon in the Jordanian capital, Amman. 

‘I want to say shame on Congresswomen Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar because they played a role in the fact that this agreement, with the Arab nations that he [President Biden] was going to meet with fell apart,’ said Griffin. ‘We now know that this hospital attack that took place, Biden said he is very confident it was not the Israelis that did it. It was likely Islamic Jihad and that’s because of U.S. Department of Defense intelligence and footage analyzed.’

With Israel bombing Gaza, ahead of an expected ground invasion, initial reports about the al-Ahli hospital blast cited Gaza officials claiming that Israel was behind it. The claims sparked protests around the world, with the Israeli embassy in Jordan the scene of clashes and the U.S. embassy in Beirut partially set on fire. The embassies of Britain and France – allies of the U.S. and Israel – were the scene of protests in Tehran. 

Griffin said Tlaib and Omar were partly to blame, as they refused to retract their statements blaming Israel. ‘What happened is people like you said, people got angry and outraged,’ said Griffin. ‘People took it to the streets in the middle of the night to protest and it turns out that very, very likely was not true and shame on those congresswomen for not walking back those wrong statements that they made.’

Omar (pictured), who was born in Somalia and immigrated to the U.S. as a refugee, commented on an Associated Press tweet headlined: ‘BREAKING: The Gaza Health Ministry says at least 500 people killed in an explosion at a hospital that it says was caused by an Israeli airstrike.’ Omar retweeted the post, and repeated the Gazan claim that it was an Israeli strike. ‘Bombing a hospital is among the gravest of war crimes. The IDF reportedly blowing up one of the few places the injured and wounded can seek medical treatment and shelter during a war is horrific,’ she tweeted. ‘@POTUS needs to push for an immediate ceasefire to end this slaughter.’

Tlaib, whose parents immigrated to the U.S. from Palestinian territory, went even further. She tweeted: ‘Israel just bombed the Baptist Hospital killing 500 Palestinians (doctors, children, patients) just like that. @POTUS this is what happens when you refuse to facilitate a ceasefire & help de-escalate. Your war and destruction only approach has opened my eyes and many Palestinian Americans and Muslims Americans like me. We will remember where you stood.’

Both Omar and Tlaib have refused to delete their tweets, despite the Pentagon now concluding that the explosion was caused by a Palestinian-launched rocket misfiring. Tlaib even doubled down on her tweet, pointing out that Israel’s army is known to have lied in the past – most notably in claiming that journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was shot in the head by the IDF in May 2022, was killed by Palestinian militants. ‘Breaking News: Israeli PM Netanyahu has lied to the public before,’ she tweeted, with a link to an Israeli newspaper fact-checking Netanyahu.

Want more stories like this from the Daily Mail? Visit our profile page here and hit the follow button above for more of the news you need.