Omar On Israeli Elections And Netanyahu's Fate — I Hope The Make A Different Decision

Speaking with Margaret Brennan on CBS’ “Face the Nation,“ Omar responded to a move last month by the Israeli government to bar Omar from visiting the country over her support for the BDS movement. The Minnesota Democrat and fellow progressive congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) were not permitted to enter Israel after President Donald Trump lobbied Israeli leaders to keep them out — setting off a backlash from both sides of the aisle to a perceived act of disrespect against the U.S. Congress.

"What is really important is for people to understand that you have to give people the opportunity to seek the kind of justice they want in a peaceful way," Omar said. "I think the opportunity to boycott, divest, sanction is the kind of the pressure that leads to that peaceful process."

Omar also said she hoped Israeli voters would see Netanyahu's "existence, his policies, his rhetoric" as "contradictory" to the peace process in the region. She cited a recent campaign promise by Netanyahu to annex large swaths of the West Bank that have been under Israeli control since 1967. The area would include the Jordan River Valley — the bread basket of a proposed Palestinian state and a vital element to proposed two-state solutions.

"For many of us in Congress, there has been a longstanding support for a two-state solution, and this annexation now is going to make sure that that peace process does not happen," Omar said.