House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., clarified comments she made last week that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza.
"Last week, while attending an event in my district, I repeated the word 'genocide' in response to a question. I want to be clear that I am not accusing Israel of genocide," Clark, the second-highest-ranking Democrat in the House, said in a statement. "We all need to work with urgency to bring the remaining hostages home, surge aid to Palestinians and oppose their involuntary relocation, remove Hamas from power, and end the war."
Last week, during a forum in her district, Clark told the audience to "take action in time to make a difference ... whether that is stopping the starvation and genocide and destruction of Gaza, or whether that means we are working together to stop the redistricting that is going on, taking away the vote from people in order to retain power," according to video of the remarks obtained by Politico.
Originally, her office said her position on the war in Gaza has not changed.
"The Israeli and Palestinian people deserve security and peace. It can only be achieved through a permanent ceasefire, the immediate return of the remaining hostages and a surge of humanitarian aid to Gaza," her spokeswoman Joy Lee said in a statement. "It should not be controversial to say that Israeli children did not deserve to be kidnapped and murdered by Hamas, nor should it be controversial to say that Palestinian children, who bear no responsibility for Hamas' atrocities, do not deserve to be killed by war or starvation."
Clark would have been the highest-ranking Democrat to call the situation in Gaza a genocide.
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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