Rep. Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.) said on Sunday that a United States-led institution of the Boycott, Sanctions, and Divestment movement against Israel is the "kind of pressure" that will lead to a "peaceful process" in the region.
CBS's Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan asked the freshman congresswoman if she would attempt to return to Israel—after she was banned earlier this year—and stood by her calls for a boycott of Israel if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not win re-election.
"I certainly hope that the people of Israel make a different decision, and my hope is that they recognize that his existence, his policies, his rhetoric really is contradictory to the peace that we are all hoping for that that region receives and receives soon," Omar said.
She added she believes Netanyahu's promise to annex the Jordan Valley, a large swathe of the West Bank, if re-elected is antithetical to Israel bringing about peace with its neighbors.
"For many of us in Congress, there has been a longstanding support for a two-state solution, and this annexation now is going to make sure that peace process does not happen and we will not get to a two-state solution," Omar said. "I think what is really important is for people to understand that you have to give people the opportunity to seek the kind of justice they want in a peaceful way, and I think the opportunity to boycott, divest, sanction is the kind of pressure that leads to that peaceful process."
When she was running for Congress in 2018, Omar said the BDS movement was "counteractive" and "not helpful in getting" the two-state solution. Upon being elected, however, Omar said she "supports the BDS movement."