With a humanitarian crisis unfolding in the Gaza Strip, President Biden expressed support for a cease-fire between Hamas militants and the Israeli military. The carefully worded statement came after increasing calls from Democratic lawmakers to take a more critical view of Israel.

In a tweet on Monday, Rep. Mark Pocan, Democrat of Wisconsin, backed calls to withhold military aid to the longtime U.S. ally, writing, “Another blank check for Israel is not going to end this violence.”

Pocan speaks with Here & Now‘s Robin Young about his stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.