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They had planned to visit Jerusalem and the West Bank over the weekend as guests of Miftah, a nonprofit Palestinian group that seeks a \"sovereign, independent, democratic, tolerant and inclusive Palestinian state, which grants Palestinians their basic rights, preserves their dignity, and enjoys international recognition and respect.\"

\"PHOTO:
KSTP
PHOTO: Rep. Rashida Tlaib and Rep. Ilhan Omar hold press conference on the ban preventing them from traveling to Israel, Aug. 18, 2019, in St Paul, Minn.
>

\"Netanyahu's decision to deny us entry might be unprecedented for members of Congress. But it is the policy of his government when it comes to Palestinians,\" Omar said Monday. \"This is the policy of his government when it comes to anyone who holds views that threaten the occupation. A policy that has been edged on and supported by Trump's administration.\"

She added, \"We know Donald Trump would love nothing more than to use this issue to pit Muslims and Jewish Americans against each other. The Muslim community and the Jewish community are being othered and made into the boogeyman by this administration.\"

Tlaib, a Palestinian-American who represents Detroit, blamed Netanyanhu for obliging Trump’s request to ban them. Tlaib was later approved by the Israeli government to travel on a \"humanitarian visit\" to see her family, but ultimately decided not to go after speaking with her grandmother.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib says she changed her mind on traveling to Israel with restrictions after speaking with her family, particularly her grandmother: \"She said I'm her dream manifested, I'm her free bird, so why would I come back and be caged and bow down?\" https://t.co/AtMFuaE5JJ pic.twitter.com/54Wj5axg7r

— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) August 19, 2019

\"She said I'm her dream manifested, I'm her free bird, so why would I come back and be caged and bow down?\" Tlaib said of her grandmother, choking back tears.

Tlaib said she struggled with the decision not to go, but decided she couldn’t make the trip until she was a \"free, American, United States Congresswoman.\"

Omar said that while she appreciates the outpouring of support from other members of Congress to cancel planned travel to Israel, she’s encouraging them to proceed as usual.

\"We have a responsibility to conduct oversight over our government's foreign policy and what happens with the millions of dollars we send in aid,\" Omar said. \"We cannot let Trump and Netanyahu succeed in hiding the cruel reality of the occupation from us. So I call on all of you to go. The occupation is real.\"

\"Barring members of Congress from seeing it does not make it go away. We must end it together,\" Omar said.

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