Dem rep: Israeli settlers are like termites

Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) on Monday compared Israeli settlers to termites while discussing Israel-Palestine relations.

“There has been a steady [stream], almost like termites can get into a residence and eat before you know that you’ve been eaten up and you fall in on yourself,” he said, according to The Washington Free Beacon.

{mosads}“There has been settlement activity that has marched forward with impunity and at an ever increasing rate to the point where it has become alarming,” Johnson said at an event sponsored by the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation.

The Washington Free Beacon on Monday said the organization rallies support for the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement.

Johnson said Israel’s ongoing occupation of disputed territories decreases the chances of an independent Palestine.

“We’ve gotten to the point where the thought of a Palestinian homeland gets further and further removed from reality,” he said.

“You see one home after another being appropriated by Jewish people who come in to claim that land just because somebody did not spend the night there,” said Johnson, a member of the House Armed Services Committee.

“The home their [Palestinian] ancestors lived in for generations becomes an Israeli home and a flag goes up. The Palestinians are barred from flying flags in their own neighborhoods.”

Johnson also compared Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman to GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump.

“The fact is the Israeli government, which is the most right-wing government ever to exist in the state of Israel, the most right-wing government, you got a guy like Trump who is now the minister of defense in Israel calling the shots on defense,” he said, adding that other members of Congress share his views.