Rashida Tlaib, only Palestinian in US Congress, re-elected for fourth term

Democratic Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian American in Congress, has won reelection to the US House representing Michigan.

Tlaib represents a district with a large Arab-American population. She has been highly critical of Israel in its war on Gaza, describing it as genocide.

But her comments have also evoked outrage from many of her colleagues. The Republican-led House voted last year to censure her for her statements regarding the war.

Tlaib said her criticism was directed toward Israel’s government and its leadership under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and vowed she “will not be silenced.”

She ran uncontested in her primary and defeated Republican James Hooper to represent the solidly Democratic district in Dearborn and Detroit.

Vocal critic of Israel's actions in Gaza

Tlaib has been a leading voice against America's military aid to Israel and for the Palestinian people in Gaza, the occupied West Bank and the US.

Earlier, she expressed strong condemnation toward a bill introduced in the US House of Representatives that would prohibit US officials from citing Palestinian casualty numbers.

Tlaib described the legislation as “disgusting” and a move to silence facts about the humanitarian toll of the ongoing conflict.

"My colleagues want to prohibit our own US officials from even citing the Palestinian death toll. So let me read it into the record. Here are the latest casualties of Palestinians killed: 37,718 Palestinians, including more than 15,000 Palestinian children and more than 86,377 Palestinians have been injured," Tlaib had said then. The death toll since then has risen to over 43,000, most of them women and children.

She introduced the "Stop Politicians Profiting from War Act," aiming at ensuring legislators prioritise the interests of the American people over personal financial gain.

She further condemned the practice of profiting from wars and weapons manufacturing, calling it "shameful" and stressing that it betrays the trust of the American people.

She highlighted the disconnect between the financial interests of some lawmakers and the consequences of their policy decisions, particularly when it comes to military interventions that affect innocent civilians.

"Members of Congress should not be able to use their positions of power to get rich from defence contractors while voting to pass more funding to bomb innocent civilians," she said.