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Ilhan Omar Warns ‘Genocide’ Could Continue in Gaza, Calls for ‘Arms Embargo’ on Israel Amid Ceasefire With Hamas

US Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) speaks at a press conference with activists calling for a ceasefire in Gaza in front of the Capitol in Washington, DC, Dec. 14, 2023. Photo: Annabelle Gordon / CNP/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect

US Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) expressed skepticism that the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas will hold during a newly released interview with anti-Israel pundit Marc Lamont Hill, cautioning that the so-called “genocide” in Gaza could resume due to Israeli misconduct. 

“I think the biggest danger for Palestinians is to have this genocide continue, and so if we have a window for that to end, I think the Palestinians are resilient enough to withstand a lot of things,” Omar said on Hill’s podcast, “Office Hours.”

The congresswoman added she was “surprised” that the Biden administration did not initially pressure Israel to implement a unilateral ceasefire in Gaza, claiming that the United States “subsidizes” the Jewish state. Moreover, she expressed astonishment at reports that Trump administration officials pushed their Israeli counterparts into brokering a ceasefire with Hamas. However, Omar claimed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu might undermine the ceasefire in Gaza, causing the war to resume.

Last week, Israel and Hamas agreed to a three-phase deal that halts fighting in Gaza, and if fully implemented, would stop the war entirely. Under the first phase, Hamas is set to release 33 hostages — women, children, and elderly men — over the next six weeks in exchange for Israel releasing nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, who were largely detained for involvement in terrorist activity. Top officials in the new Trump administration have said in recent weeks that the US will support Israel renewing military operations in Gaza if Hamas launches more attacks against the Jewish state and violates the agreement.

The ceasefire began on Sunday, when Hamas released three female Israeli civilian hostages.

Despite indicating cautious optimism about the ceasefire deal, Omar, one of the most strident critics of Israel in the US Congress, warned that the Trump administration could still worsen the plight of the Palestinians over the next four years. 

“I do believe there is an incredible danger, and the possibility of having the West Bank annexed. There is a possibility of having UNWRA not getting funding from the United States. There is an incredible danger and possibility for there not to be humanitarian aid just in general to the Palestinians,” Omar said. 

Some members of the Trump administration — including Mike Huckabee, who is US President Donald Trump’s pick for ambassador to Israel — have publicly professed their belief that the West Bank belongs to the Jewish state. In addition, Huckabee has said that he will officially refer to the West Bank as “Judea and Samaria” — terminology preferred by Israel. 

On Monday, Trump signed an executive order temporarily suspending all US foreign assistance programs for 90 days pending reviews to determine whether they are aligned with his policy goals. One expected target of Trump’s that has received US finding is UNRWA, the controversial United Nations agency responsible for Palestinian refugees and their descendants. Since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, Israel has also said that UNRWA has been deeply infiltrated by Hamas in Gaza, accusing some of its staff of taking part in the Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel. The Israeli government and research organizations have publicized findings showing numerous UNRWA-employed staff, including teachers and school principals, are active Hamas members who were directly involved in the attack, while many others openly celebrated it.

In contrast to Biden, Omar argued that Trump “understands the amount of leverage we have as a superpower, as a country that does hold the resources that Israel needs in order to continue the war.” She added that Biden administration officials, such as former Secretary of State Antony Blinken, allowed themselves to be “embarrassed” by Netanyahu, claiming that the Israeli premier rebuffed their requests for a ceasefire deal between the Jewish state and the terrorist organization. 

US officials who tried to broker a ceasefire in Gaza for months have repeatedly claimed that Hamas was the chief obstacle to reaching an agreement.

In her interview, Omar urged the Trump administration to apply additional pressure to Israel, suggesting that the White House block arms shipments to the Jewish state. 

“I mean, we obviously are supplying them with the weapons that they are utilizing, and, s,o we can institute an arms embargo, we can certainly make sure that we have a clear red line that is communicated to them,” Omar said.

The Trump administration has not publicly indicated any support for an arms embargo on Israel. According to reporting by Axios, Israeli Ambassador to the US Mike Herzog expects the White House to lift the Biden administration’s restriction on shipments of 2,000-pound bombs. In May 2024, the Biden administration blocked the delivery of such bombs to the Jewish state, citing fear of excessive civilian casualties in densely-populated areas of Gaza. Experts have argued that such bombs are necessary to reach Gaza’s underground tunnel network, which it has used to hide hostages and plan terrorist attacks.

“We believe that Trump is going to release, at the beginning of his term, the munitions that haven’t been released until now by the Biden administration,” Herzog told Axios.

Since being elected to Congress in 2018, Omar has established herself  as a harsh critic of Israel. She has accused the Jewish state of committing “ethnic cleansing” in Gaza and erecting an”“apartheid” government in the West Bank. The lawmaker has also publicly declared support for the boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement (BDS), which seeks to turn the Jewish state into an international pariah as a first step toward its eventual destruction.

Omar was among the first members of Congress to call for a ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas terrorist group in Gaza, falsely arguing that the Jewish state’s military operations “indiscriminately” killed Palestinian civilians.

The post Ilhan Omar Warns ‘Genocide’ Could Continue in Gaza, Calls for ‘Arms Embargo’ on Israel Amid Ceasefire With Hamas first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Trump Says He Expects Gaza War to Reach ‘Conclusive Ending’ in 2-3 Weeks

US President Donald Trump speaks during a swearing-in ceremony of Special Envoy Steve Witkoff in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, US, May 6, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Kent Nishimura

US President Donald Trump said on Monday he expects the ongoing war in Gaza to reach a “conclusive” end within the next two to three weeks, even as ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas remain unresolved.

Speaking alongside South Korean President Lee Jae Myung at the White House, Trump told reporters he believed a resolution was close. “I think within the next two to three weeks, you’re going to have a pretty good, conclusive ending,” he said.

Trump also urged Americans not to forget the Hamas-led invasion of southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, the largest single-day massacre of Jews since the Holocaust that started the war in Gaza.

“It has to end, but people can’t forget Oct. 7,” Trump said.

Palestinian terrorists led by Hamas murdered 1,200 people and kidnapped 251 hostages while perpetrating rampant sexual violence during their onslaught, which led Israel to wage a military campaign aimed at freeing those who were abducted and dismantling Hamas’s rule in neighboring Gaza.

The comments came as Israel continued to deliberate over a ceasefire proposal agreed to by Hamas last week. Though Israel has not given an official answer, Israeli Prime Minister Benjmain Netanyahu said he commenced negotiations to secure an end to the war and a return of the remaining hostages.

The proposal, brokered by the US, Egypt, and Qatar, calls for a 60-day truce during which Hamas would free 10 living hostages along with the deceased bodies of 18 others. In return, Israel would release significantly more Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails, allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza, and partially pull back its forces in Gaza.

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Cornell University Takes Cleaver to Budget Amid Trump Crackdown

Illustrative: Cornell’s anti-Israel divestment protests on May 25, 2024. Photo: USA Today Network via Reuters Connect.

Cornell University is taking a cleaver to its budget amid what it described as a “contraction” in government funding caused by the Trump administration’s impounding $1 billion previously awarded to it via research grants and federal contracts as punishment for its alleged nonresponse to campus antisemitism.

“Urgent action is necessary, both to reduce costs immediately and to correct our course over time — achieving an institutional structure that enables us to balance our budgets over the long term,” Cornell president Michael Kotlikoff wrote in a letter to the campus community. “Our work toward this goal will progress in several phases, beginning with immediate budget reductions already underway for the current fiscal year across our Ithaca, Cornell AgriTech, Weill Cornell Medicine, and Cornell Tech campuses.”

He continued, “Hiring on all campuses remains restricted indefinitely, with rare exceptions from campus-based position control committees.”

Cornell announced the cuts even as it inches closer toward a reported $100 million settlement with the federal government to restore the confiscated funds. It has already resorted to borrowing, having placed over $1 billion in bonds on the market since April — according to Bloomberg — and refused to publicly discuss the decision.

Cornell University has seen a series of disturbing antisemitic incidents since the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre perpetrated by Hamas across southern Israel.

Three weeks after the atrocities which ravaged Israeli communities, now-former student Patrick Dai threatened to commit heinous crimes against members of the school’s Jewish community, including mass murder and rape. He was later sentenced to 21 months in federal prison.

Cornell students also occupied an administrative building and held a “mock trial” in which they convicted then-school president Martha Pollack of complicity in “apartheid” and “genocide against Palestinian civilians.” Meanwhile, history professor Russell Rickford called Hamas’s barbarity on Oct. 7 “exhilarating” and “energizing” at a pro-Palestinian rally held on campus.

Cornell University and Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) sparred all of last academic year, with SJP pushing the limits of what constitutes appropriate conduct on campus. In September, school officials suspended over a dozen SJP affiliated students who disrupted a career fair, an action which saw them “physically” breach the area by “[pushing] police out of the way.” In February, the university amnestied some of the protesters, granting them “alternate resolutions” which terminated their suspensions, according to The Cornell Daily Sun.

In January, anti-Zionist agitators at Cornell kicked off the spring semester with an act of vandalism which attacked Israel as an “occupier” and practitioner of “apartheid.” The students drew a blistering response from Kotlikoff, who said that “acts of violence, extended occupations of buildings, or destruction of property (including graffiti), will not be tolerated and will be subject to immediate public safety response,” but the university has declined to say how it will deal with the matter since identifying at least one of the culprits in February.

Other elite colleges may soon face the same hard choices as Cornell.

Just last week, the US Department of Education began investigating Haverford College over alleged violations of civil rights laws stemming from inadequate responses to antisemitism.

“Like many other institutions of higher education, Haverford College is alleged to have ignored antisemitic harassment on its campus, contravening federal civil rights laws and its own anti-discrimination policies,” acting civil rights secretary Craig Trainor said in a statement. “The Trump administration will not allow Jewish life to be pushed into the shadows because college leaders are too craven to respond appropriately to unlawful antisemitic incidents on campus.”

Earlier this month, a coalition of leading Jewish civil rights groups called on the higher education establishment to prioritize fighting campus antisemitism during the upcoming academic year, citing an unrelenting wave of anti-Jewish hate that has swept the US in recent years.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), Jewish Federations of North America, Hillel International, and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations issued a joint statement, putting forth a policy framework that they say will quell antisemitism if applied sincerely and consistently. It included “enhanced communication and policy enforcement,” “dedicated administration oversight,” and “faculty accountability” — an issue of rising importance given the number of faculty accused of inciting discrimination.

“These recommendations aren’t just suggestions; they’re essential steps universities need to take to ensure Jewish students can learn without fear,” ADL chief executive officer Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement. “Jewish students are being forced to hide who they are, and that’s unacceptable — we need more administrators to step up.”

As previously reported by The Algemeiner, colleges campus across the US erupted with effusions of antisemitic activity following the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel, an uprising which included calling for the destruction of Israel, cheering Hamas’s sexual assaulting of women as an instrument of war, and dozens of incidents of assault and harassment targeting Jewish students, faculty, and activists.

At the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), anti-Zionist protesters chanted “Itbah El Yahud” at Bruin Plaza, which means “slaughter the Jews” in Arabic. At Columbia University, Jews were gang-assaulted, a student proclaimed that Zionist Jews deserve to be murdered and are lucky he is not doing so himself, and administrative officials, outraged at the notion that Jews organized to resist anti-Zionism, participated in a group chat in which each member took turns sharing antisemitic tropes that described Jews as privileged and grafting. At Harvard University, an October 2023 anti-Israel demonstration degenerated into chaos when Ibrahim Bharmal, former editor of the prestigious Harvard Law Review, and Elom Tettey-Tamaklo encircled a Jewish student with a mob that screamed “Shame! Shame! Shame!” at him while he desperately attempted to free himself from the mass of bodies.

More recently, Eden Deckerhoff — a female student at Florida State University — allegedly assaulted a Jewish male classmate at the Leach Student Recreation Center after noticing his wearing apparel issued by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

“F—k Israel, Free Palestine. Put it [the video] on Barstool FSU. I really don’t give a f—k,” the woman said before shoving the man, according to video taken by the victim. “You’re an ignorant son of a b—h.” Deckerhoff has since been charged with misdemeanor battery.

Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.

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Trump Admin Reviewing Visa Applications of ‘Terrorist Sympathizers’ Set to Appear at Pro-Palestinian Conference

Marco Rubio speaks after he is sworn in as Secretary of State by US Vice President JD Vance at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, DC, Jan. 21, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

The US State Department is actively reviewing the records of foreign speakers at the upcoming People’s Conference for Palestine in Detroit for potential ties to terrorism, The Algemeiner has learned.

A spokesperson for the State Department told The Algemeiner that officials have “noted” the conference, which is set to take place from Aug 29-31, and will also watch out for visa applications for invited international speakers, citing a preponderance of “terrorist sympathizers” on the program’s lineup. 

“Given the public invite lists seems to include a number of terrorist sympathizers, we are going through and ensuring all international speakers slated to attend the conference are being placed on a ‘look out’ status for visa applications, so we are alerted if a request is submitted and can ensure they are appropriately processed,” the spokesperson said.

“In every case, we will take the time necessary to ensure an applicant does not pose a risk to the safety and security of the United States and that he or she has credibly established his or her eligibility for the visa sought, including that the applicant intends to engage in activities consistent with the terms of admission,” the spokesperson added. 

The People’s Conference for Palestine will feature dozens of anti-Zionist activists, academics, artists, and political organizers, including US Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI).

Tlaib’s appearance at last year’s iteration of the conference sparked intense backlash, with critics pointing out the event’s connections to Wisam Rafeedie and Salah Salah, members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), an internationally designated terrorist organization.

The conference is convened by a coalition that includes the Palestinian Youth Movement, Al-Awda: The Palestine Right to Return Coalition, and the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, among others. Several of these groups have maintained ties with PFLP, openly supported boycott efforts against Israel, and called for an arms embargo in the wake of Israel’s military campaign against Hamas in Gaza. The programming highlights sessions on “Documenting Genocide” and “Breaking the Siege,” rhetoric that critics argue mischaracterizes Israel’s actions as it seeks to defend itself against terrorist attacks following Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel.

The Detroit gathering is expected to attract thousands of attendees, with dozens of speakers and activists scheduled to participate. Among the roster are well-known anti-Israel figures such as Linda Sarsour, Miko Peled, and Chris Smalls.

The planned presence of several alleged “foreign terror sympathizers” has sparked outrage among observers.

Abed Abubaker, a self-described “reporter” from Gaza, is expected to make a physical appearance at the Detroit conference later this month. Abubaker has repeatedly praised the Hamas terrorist group as “resistance fighters” on social media and won a “journalist of the year” award from Iran’s state-controlled media outlet PressTV. In a January 2025 social media post, he showered praise on long-time Hamas leader and Oct. 7 mastermind Yahya Sinwar, saying that the terrorist’s “love of resistance and land is seen very clearly.” In a March 2025 post, Abubaker argued that international supporters of the Palestinian cause should “attack your governments.” He also defended Hamas’s murdering of dissidents, saying that the victims were “collaborating” with Israel.

Since returning to the White House earlier this year, the Trump administration has launched a major overhaul of the US visa system, part of what officials have described as an effort to root out individuals sympathetic to terrorism or those espousing antisemitic views. The sweeping measures include expanded social media vetting for new applicants, continuous monitoring of the 55 million current visa holders, and the revocation of thousands of student visas. 

The Trump administration’s sweeping visa crackdown has ensnared high-profile foreign academics and students, fueling outrage among pro-Palestinian activists. Rasha Alawieh, a Lebanese professor at Brown University, was deported after officials flagged content on her phone as sympathetic to Hezbollah, a US-designated terrorist group. Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate and green-card holder, was arrested and assigned criminal charges for alleged ties to Hamas before he was released. At Tufts University, Turkish student Rümeysa Öztürk was detained after co-authoring an opinion piece on Gaza.

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