TENSIONS RISE

Palestinian-American Doctor Walked Out of Meeting With Biden: Report

Dr. Thaer Ahmad told NBC News that he wanted “to let the administration feel the way that we felt this past six months and kind of get up and walk away from them.”

A Palestinian American doctor walked out of a meeting between Muslim leaders and President Joe Biden on Tuesday, NBC News reports. Dr. Thaer Ahmad, who volunteered in Khan Younis amid the fighting in Gaza, said he wanted “to let the administration feel the way that we felt this past six months and kind of get up and walk away from them.” Before he left, Ahmad gave a letter to the president written by an 8-year-old orphan in Rafah, NBC News reported. The meeting was scheduled after the White House reportedly canceled its Iftar banquet. On Tuesday, the White House pivoted from a scaled-down dinner, to a staff-only dinner, with a separate meeting for Muslim leaders at the request of Muslim leaders who did not think a dinner was an appropriate setting to discuss the suffering in Gaza. Many leaders reportedly declined the White House’s invitation. Tensions between the Biden administration and the Muslim community have only mounted as President Joe Biden continues to send weapons to Israel for its deadly military campaign in Gaza.