Tori Otten
A Republican representative believes that Palestinian babies are not innocent civilians but “terrorists” who should be killed.
Florida Representative Brian Mast made the horrifying comment when confronted by Code Pink protesters outside his office on Wednesday.
In a video, Mast can be seen calmly telling the demonstrators, “It would be better if you kill all the terrorists and kill everyone who are supporters.”
When asked if he has seen the images of Palestinian babies killed in Israeli attacks, Mast says, “These are not innocent Palestinian civilians.”
“The babies?” the activists asks in astonishment.
Mast then says that the “half a million people starving to death” should have elected a pro-Israel government.
When one protester points out that much of Gaza’s infrastructure has been destroyed, Mast says, “And there’s more infrastructure that needs to be destroyed.”
More than 27,000 Palestinians have been killed since October in Israel’s constant bombardment of Gaza. The majority of the victims have been women and children.
Mast’s horrific comments—and the chilling way in which he delivered them—should come as no surprise. In November, just a few weeks after the war began, Mast compared Palestinian civilians to Nazis and implied that they are all guilty for Hamas’s atrocities.
“I would encourage the other side to not so lightly throw around the idea of ‘innocent Palestinian civilians,’ as is frequently said,” he said on the House floor.
“I don’t think we would so lightly throw around the term ‘innocent Nazi civilians’ during World War II.”
Tori Otten is an associate writer for breaking news at The New Republic.
C-Information Clearing House
