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rashida tlaib
'This Must Stop': Call Grows for US Lawmakers to Pass Lebanon War Powers Resolution
A coalition of anti-war groups said Rep. Rashida Tlaib's resolution "is the only legislative tool that can force a vote and thus every member of Congress to take a position about this war on the record."
Jun 01, 2026
As Israel's deepening invasion of Lebanon threatens to derail peace talks between the US and Iran, American lawmakers are facing pressure to pass a war powers resolution to limit US involvement this week.
In recent days, despite a ceasefire agreement in April, Israel has ordered the forced evacuation of hundreds of thousands more Lebanese civilians from their homes in the country's south, and declared all areas south of the Zahrani River a combat zone.
In what Defense Minister Israel Katz has described as a continuation of its "Gaza model," the Israel Defense Forces have systematically razed dozens of villages across southern Lebanon.
US Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), who introduced the war powers resolution in April, said, "This must stop."
"Our country should not be assisting or supporting indiscriminate bombings and forced displacement anywhere, including Lebanon," Tlaib said on social media Monday, responding to a report that the death toll had climbed above 3,400 since Israel launched its assault on Lebanon in March. "We must pass the Lebanon war powers resolution this week."
The brief resolution would require the US to end unauthorized military cooperation with Israel within seven days of being passed, which proponents said may also limit the ability of the US military to share intelligence and coordinate targets with Israel.
Tlaib and other progressives like Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) initially pushed for the resolution to be brought to a House vote during the week of May 18, but it was kicked until after lawmakers returned from recess.
In the meantime, several cosponsors have signed onto the resolution, bringing the total up to 17. They include Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Greg Casar (D-Texas) and Rep. André Carson (D-Ind.), who serves on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
War powers votes can be introduced by any member of Congress and do not need the support of the Republican Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson (La.).
A coalition of anti-war groups led by Just Foreign Policy organized a letter-writing campaign to tell members of Congress to support the resolution. The groups say supporters have sent nearly 24,000 letters to Congress so far.
"Israel's invasion of Lebanon has killed more than 3,000 people since March 2nd, displaced over 1.2 million—a fifth of the country's entire population—and caused over $14 billion in destruction. Hospitals bombed. Entire villages erased," they said. "Rashida Tlaib’s resolution... is the only legislative tool that can force a vote and thus every member of Congress to take a position about this war on the record."
Spokespeople for the Democrats on the House Foreign Relations Committee did not respond when asked by Common Dreams whether members planned on supporting Tlaib's resolution.
Israel has been accused of ramping up its attacks on Lebanon as a means of sabotaging peace talks between the US and Iran. Abbas Araghchi, Iran's foreign minister, wrote on social media Monday that “the ceasefire between Iran and the US is unequivocally a ceasefire on all fronts, including in Lebanon."
It was reported by Iran's Tasnim News Agency on Monday that Tehran was backing away from talks with President Donald Trump in response to Israel's escalation in Lebanon. The country's foreign ministry said the US “bears direct responsibility both for the violations of the ceasefire against Iran and for the violations committed by the Zionist regime against Lebanon.”
However, after phone calls with a Hezbollah intermediary and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump said on Truth Social that “talks were continuing at a rapid pace,” and “there will be no Troops going to Beirut, and any Troops that are on their way have already been turned back.”
Netanyahu responded to the reports by saying that he planned to launch more attacks against Lebanon's densely populated capital if Hezbollah did not stop attacking Israel, and that Israel would "continue operating in southern Lebanon as planned."
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Tlaib Leads Dems Decrying Trump Admin Failure to Protect US Citizens Abducted From Gaza Flotilla
Israeli forces intercepted and detained at least 175 people off the coast of Greece, including 14 Americans, some of whom reportedly suffered broken bones and other injuries.
May 05, 2026
Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and 18 other House Democrats on Tuesday condemned the US State Department's failure to protect 14 Americans aboard the latest humanitarian aid convoy seized by Israeli forces en route to Gaza, as well as the agency's threat to punish US participants in the flotilla.
"On Wednesday April 29, 2026, Israeli military forces illegally intercepted and attacked nearly two dozen civilian vessels in international waters and abducted at least 175 unarmed humanitarians, journalists, and solidarity activists taking part in the Global Sumud Flotilla, a brave effort to end the Israeli government's ongoing starvation blockade of Gaza and deliver essential food and medical aid, establish a humanitarian corridor, and save lives," the lawmakers wrote in a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
"This attack on a civilian humanitarian mission involving participants from over 55 countries, including the United States, conducted an unprecedented 600 miles into international waters, is a grave violation of international law," the letter states. "It demands action and accountability from the United States to protect abducted US citizens, to allow the free flow of humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza enduring forced starvation, and an end to the decades of impunity that enable these crimes."
The lawmakers continued:
We are outraged that instead of speaking out and taking action to ensure the safety and immediate release of the at least 14 US citizens illegally abducted by the Israeli military, the Department of State went out of its way to issue a formal condemnation of their humanitarian efforts, smearing them with libelous falsehoods that expose them to greater danger and violence and threatening allied countries who allow port access to this humanitarian mission. This is an abdication of your duty to protect the safety of all Americans and is an Orwellian distortion where providing food to the hungry is terror and forced starvation is peace.
While we are relieved by reporting that most abducted flotilla passengers have now been released and will not be forced to suffer the abuse and inhumane conditions endured for days by participants of the previous flotilla illegally detained in Israeli prison, we are disturbed by reports that abductees were violently abused while held on Israeli vessels and that multiple US citizens have been hospitalized following their release. After all this, it is extremely alarming that US participants in the flotilla may face additional unjust persecution upon their return home.
Numerous people aboard the flotilla reported being brutally beaten by their captors, with some allegedly suffering broken ribs, noses, and other injuries, some of which reportedly required hospitalization.
Instead of assisting US victims, State Department spokesperson Thomas Piggott said his agency "will explore using available tools to impose consequences on those who provide support to this pro-Hamas flotilla."
The lawmakers' letter calls on Rubio and the Trump administration "to rescind these threats against flotilla participants, their supporters, and states that open their ports to this humanitarian mission and urge you to use your immense leverage to secure the freedom of all passengers who continue to be illegally detained."
"Above all else, we urge you to address the issue at the root of this voyage: the brutal Israeli blockade and genocide of the Palestinian people in Gaza," the Democrats said.
"The ongoing forced starvation of the Palestinian population in Gaza is a direct result of the Israeli government’s siege and blockade of the territory, which continues to impede the entry of food and humanitarian aid in flagrant violation of legally binding orders from the International Court of Justice," they continued.
"Likewise, the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry has determined that the Israeli government is committing the crime of genocide in Gaza and that this blockade is deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the physical destruction of the Palestinian people in whole or in part," the letter notes.
"While the Trump administration fails to use its immense leverage to end this blockade and fulfill the United States’ binding legal obligations under the Genocide Convention, the activists on board the flotilla are an example of profound solidarity and humanitarianism," the lawmakers added. "Undeterred by this latest attack, additional flotilla ships continue their mission to deliver aid to Gaza. We call on you to deter any further hostile actions against the flotilla and ensure the successful completion of its humanitarian mission.”
Earlier Tuesday, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva condemned Israel’s twice-extended detention of two Global Sumud Flotilla members—Thiago Ávila of Brazil and Spanish-Swedish national Saif Abu Keshek—who Israeli authorities claim without providing evidence are linked to the Palestinian militant resistance group Hamas. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has also condemned the activists' abduction and demanded their release, as have numerous humanitarian groups and advocates around the world.
In addition to Tlaib—the only Palestinian American member of Congress—the letter was signed by Reps. Mark Pocan (Wis.), Delia Ramirez (Ill.), Ro Khanna (Calif.), Jesús "Chuy" García (Ill.), André Carson (Ind.), Jim McGovern (Mass.), Pramila Jayapal (Wash.), Greg Casar (Texas), Henry "Hank" Johnson (Ga.), Nydia Velásquez (NY), Ayanna Pressley (Mass.), Maxine Dexter (Ore.), Summer Lee (Pa.), Ilhan Omar (Minn.), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ), Al Green (Texas), Lateefah Simon (Calif.), and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY).
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Tlaib Leads Democrats in Demanding Permanent Ceasefire Deal That Includes Lebanon
"Netanyahu helped walk us into war, but he cannot keep us there," said US Rep. Debbie Dingell.
Apr 09, 2026
A group of Democrats in the US House of Representatives on Thursday demanded that any ceasefire deal to pause the war in Iran must force Israel to halt its operations in Lebanon, and called for the passage of a war powers resolution to help end the attacks.
Although the US, Iran, and Israel agreed to a two-week ceasefire on Tuesday, Israel has continued its bombing campaign in Lebanon, killing more than 250 people on Wednesday alone.
Iran has said it will not abide by a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz until the attacks on Lebanon stop, while Pakistan, which helped broker the ceasefire, has insisted that halting strikes on Lebanon has always been part of the agreement.
In a Thursday social media post, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) promoted a resolution she introduced in late March that called on the US to force Israel to stop its campaign in Lebanon, which has killed and wounded thousands of people while displacing more than 1 million more.
"I didn't wait for the genocidal regime of Israel to kill over 250 people in Lebanon yesterday to file resolutions to stop the US funding of these war crimes," wrote Tlaib. "So for colleagues speaking up now, welcome, but also don't just tweet, support the war powers resolution to save lives."
The call to include Lebanon in any ceasefire didn't just come from progressives like Tlaib, but from centrist members such as Rep. Valerie Foushee (D-NC), who recently defeated a progressive primary challenger who heavily criticized her past support from the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).
"I am signing Rep. Tlaib's war powers resolution to stop all US military involvement in Israel’s hostilities in Lebanon," Foushee said. "The war in Lebanon has displaced nearly 1 million people and has claimed the lives of thousands. Our federal government must hold itself to higher humanitarian standards than participating in a war that is putting innocent people at risk."
Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) didn't explicitly endorse Tlaib's resolution, but affirmed that any ceasefire deal needed to curtail Israel's Lebanon campaign.
"This ceasefire must become a permanent peace. That means including Lebanon," wrote Dingell. "Netanyahu helped walk us into war, but he cannot keep us there."
Tlaib's resolution, which was introduced on March 27, calls for the US to force Israel to end its incursion and to withdraw its forces from Lebanese territory, while providing humanitarian aid and guaranteeing a right of return for all displaced Lebanese people.
Anti-war advocacy organization Just Foreign Policy encouraged Democratic leaders to get on board with Tlaib's resolution.
"Let's hope that leadership of House Democrats can support Rep. Tlaib's war powers resolution—without any delay!" the group wrote.
The group called on voters to demand that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking member Gregory Meeks (D-NY), and other leaders to "do so—and say they'll support the House floor vote—NOW!"
On Thursday, House Republicans blocked Democrats' efforts to force a vote on a war powers resolution that would halt Trump's Iran war, although the party is expected to try again next week when Congress is scheduled to return to Washington, DC.
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