Palestinian U.S. Congresswoman-to-be vows to vote against Israel aid

"I will be using my position in congress so that no country, not one, should be able to get aid from the US," she continued. "When they still promote that kind of injustice."

AUGUST 14, 2018 20:36

Updated: AUGUST 15, 2018 15:13

Rashida Tlaib on interview about Arab-Israeli Conflict (August 13, 2018). (photo credit: YOUTUBE SCREENSHOT) — Rashida Tlaib on interview about Arab-Israeli Conflict (August 13, 2018).

(photo credit: YOUTUBE SCREENSHOT)

Rashida Tlaib, the soon-to-be first Muslim congresswoman in the United States, said that she would "absolutely" vote against military aid for Israel when questioned during an interview on Britian's Channel 4 News on Monday.

"Absolutely, if it has something to do with inequality and not access to people having justice. For me US aid should be leverage," said Tlaib.

"I will be using my position in congress so that no country, not one, should be able to get aid from the US," she continued. "When they still promote that kind of injustice."

Tlaib also compared the Arab-Israeli conflict with the civil rights movement in Detroit.

"I grew up in Detroit where every single corner is a reminder of the civil rights movement," Talib responded when asked about her views on the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Talib also added about her views on the conflict that "So much is about let's choose a side. I am for making sure that every single person there has every right to thrive."

The future congresswomen is a Detroit native and born to a family of Palestinian immigrants to the US.

On August 7, she won her district's Democratic nomination for Michigan's 13th Congressional district, encompassing parts of Detroit and surrounding suburbs and home to one of the largest Muslim and Arab-American populations in the United States.

Thank you so much for making this unbelievable moment possible. I am at a loss for words. I cannot wait to serve you in Congress.
— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) August 8, 2018

Since no one ran in the Republican primary, Tlaib is poised to win the seat.

"This makes us proud - as the Tlaib family, residents of Beit Ur, as Palestinians, as Arabs and as Muslims, that a simple girl reaches such a position," said her uncle, Bassam Tlaib, after the win.

Tlaib's grandmother, aunts and uncles welcomed neighbors in the village of Beit Ur al-Fauqa in the West Bank, gathering near their single-story stone house beside a grove of olive trees to congratulate them on the historic win on August 8.

Reuters contributed to this report.