A US congressman has sparked outrage for telling a pro-Palestinian activist that the US should kill all members of Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza.
According to Al Jazeera, Republican Rep. Andy Ogles made the remark after being confronted on Capitol Hill by the activist who told the Tennessee lawmaker that her “tax payer dollars are going to bomb those kids [in Gaza].”
Ogles responded by saying, “We should kill them all. Does that make you feel better? Everybody in Hamas.”
The exchange was captured on video and posted on social media, where it quickly went viral and drew widespread condemnation from human rights groups, Palestinian advocates, and fellow lawmakers.
The activist, who identified herself as a Palestinian-American, said she was appalled by Ogles’ statement and accused him of supporting genocide.
“He’s literally saying that he wants to kill my family, my friends, my people,” she said in a follow-up video. “He’s saying that he wants to kill innocent civilians, children, women, elderly, who have nothing to do with this conflict.”
Ogles was one of several Republican representatives who introduced legislation that would prohibit the US from accepting potential Palestinian refugees displaced by the war in Gaza.
The bill, titled the “Preventing Hamas from Exploiting Refugees Act”, claims that Hamas uses refugees as “human shields” and “terrorist recruits” and argues that the US should not resettle them in the country.
The legislation was introduced amid a deadly escalation of violence between Israel and Hamas, which has killed more than 25,000 Palestinians.
The US has been a staunch ally of Israel and has blocked several attempts by the UN Security Council to call for a ceasefire.
Ogles has not apologized for his comment and has defended his position on Twitter, saying that he stands with Israel and that Hamas is a terrorist organization that must be eliminated.
He also accused the activist of being a “radical leftist” and a “Hamas sympathizer” who was trying to “harass” him.
“I will not be intimidated by radical leftists who support terrorists and use propaganda to push their anti-Semitic agenda,” he wrote.
Ogles’ office did not respond to requests for comment from the media.
