Pelosi pushes for independent commission to examine World Central Kitchen strike

Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) this week pushed for an independent commission to look into the Israeli strike that killed seven aid workers with the charity World Central Kitchen (WCK) earlier this month.

Pelosi said in an interview with MSNBC on Wednesday that she signed onto a letter with more than 50 other Democrats calling to withhold weapons until an independent commission can investigate the WCK strike.

“The letter is simple: until you have an investigation, we should withhold,” she said. “I think it’s a very contained letter. There are other people who have different standards for what we should be doing in terms of offensive weapons.”

There has been growing frustration in the Democratic Party over Israel’s war against the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza, where more than 33,000 people have been killed in just more than six months of fighting.

Other Democrats have also called for an independent investigation into the WCK strike, including Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), a key ally of President Biden.

But the White House has signaled that it will not back calls for an independent investigation into the strike.

Israel fired two officers last week after finding the strike should not have occurred. A preliminary investigation found that the Israeli forces responsible for the strike mistakenly thought the WCK convoy carried Hamas fighters.

Biden held a tense phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after the strike, and just hours later, Israel announced the opening of a new border crossing in northern Gaza.

Israel has been accused of holding back aid from Gaza, and Pelosi on Wednesday repeated calls to let more food and water into the strip.

“There are ways to do this that are not dehydrating or withholding of food and nutrition and the rest from children and families,” she said.

In a separate MSNBC interview Tuesday, Pelosi cited the Leahy Laws, which prohibit military assistance to foreign countries that violate human rights, when asked about withholding weapons to Israel.

“If we give you assistance,” she said, “you cannot interfere with our giving humanitarian assistance.”

Still, Pelosi said she does not support a blanket restriction on aid to Israel, repeating that her letter is tied solely to an independent investigation of the WCK strike.

Pelosi has also joined other Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) in criticizing Netanyahu’s leadership during the war, a point she doubled down on Tuesday. She agreed with Schumer that Israel should hold new elections.

“He’s only interested in his own political survival,” she said. “Netanyahu is a tragedy.”