Dr. Thaer Ahmad, a MedGlobal board member, claimed Tuesday that he walked out of a meeting with President Biden at the White House to protest the administration’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war.
“I spoke first, and I told him that I am from a community that is reeling,” Ahmad told CNN’s Kaitlin Collins of his encounter with Biden. “We are grieving. Our hearts are saddened over what has happened in the last six months. The rhetoric coming from the Biden administration and the White House has irritated many individuals, particularly Palestinian Americans, Muslim Americans, and Arab Americans. We are not content with what has happened.”
Ahmad stated that he discussed his concerns with Biden regarding the well-being of Gaza inhabitants in light of Israel’s potential invasion of Rafah.
“I was able to share that with the president and let him know that out of respect for my community, out of respect for all of the people who have suffered and who have been killed in the process, I need to walk out of the meeting and I want to walk out with decision-makers and let them know what it feels like for somebody to say something and then walk away from them and not hear them out and not hear their response,” he told CNN earlier this week.
When asked how Biden handled Ahmad leaving the meeting, the doctor stated that the president acknowledged his departure.
“He actually said that he understood and I walked away,” Ahmad went on to say.
Ahmad inquired about what would happen to inhabitants in Rafah, a city in Gaza.
“I’m telling you that every single humanitarian aid organization, every single person involved and observing, is trying to scream at the top of their lungs, ‘Please, we cannot let a ground invasion to take place. We need food to enter and be safely distributed.”
Ahmad said that he was the sole “Palestinian American in that room” with the president.
The doctor also referred to the World Central Kitchen workers who were slain in an Israeli air attack.
“I’m glad you mentioned the tragic loss of the World Central Kitchen workers who were a part of an approved route,” Ahmad went on to say. “I mean, these are people who are coordinating and simply trying to get food to hungry people, and they are assassinated in the process.” “There is so much wrong in Gaza.”
A White House official commented on the discussion with Muslim community leaders in a statement released to Fox News Digital.
“President Biden and Vice President Harris know this a deeply painful moment for many in the Muslim and Arab communities,” a senior administration official said. “President Biden made it clear that he mourns the death of all innocent lives in this fight.
The President also pledged to continue negotiating for an immediate ceasefire as part of a deal to rescue the detainees and greatly enhance humanitarian aid to Gaza. The President and Vice President will continue to meet with Muslim and Arab American communities, listening to the voices of all those affected by the war.”
According to a meeting source, Biden “listened respectfully, and continued to engage with participants about his work to secure an immediate cease-fire as part of a deal to free the hostages and significantly increase humanitarian aid into Gaza.”