U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib's family in a West Bank village told UPI on
Friday they can't bear to tell her 90-year-old grandmother that the
congresswoman is not coming to visit.
Rashida Tlaib's uncle, Bassam Tlaib, said Muftia Tlaib was happily preparing to see her granddaughter.
"We have only told her that Rashida may not come, so she can get used to
the idea. In time, we will tell her that she is not coming. It will be
very disappointing for her," he said.
The Michigan Democrat said Friday she would not take the planned trip
after Israeli officials first banned her from entry, then granted
permission on humanitarian grounds for her to visit her grandmother --
with restrictions, including refraining from promoting a boycott against
Israel.
Bassam Tlaib received a text message from Rashida Tlaib Friday, saying, "I am not coming under these conditions."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the travel ban
Thursday against Tlaib and fellow U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota. He
and U.S. President Donald Trump have criticized the congresswomen for
their support of Palestinians and the boycott, divestment and sanctions
movement targeting Israel.
Ashraf Samara, head of the town council of Beit Ur Al-Fauqa, where the
Tlaib family's old stone home sits alone just outside the village, said
they were planning a small welcoming party with another small village,
but all plans have been stopped.
"The ban by Netanyahu shows the reality of the Israeli occupation,
stealing land and hope," Samara said. "We want a different life where we
are free."
Bassam Tlaib said he was not surprised by Israel's actions.
"The decision of the Israeli government to ban her was not strange to us
because we live under occupation. The decision is a policy of
discrimination against her because her opinions about Israel contradict
the opinions of Israel. If she had different opinions about the
occupation, she would be allowed to enter."
Rashida Tlaib is the first Palestinian-American woman in Congress.
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