US Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) speaking at a press conference at the US Capitol. Photo: Michael Brochstein/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect

US Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) slammed the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, intensifying the rhetoric of some lawmakers in Washington, DC against the Jewish state and its American supporters.

“The hypocrisy of [AIPAC]. Netanyahu refuses to support the ceasefire/return of hostage plan, as his real plan is to destroy Gaza,” Pocan posted on X/Twitter. “Yet they claim Hamas missing a meeting as supposed failure. Both should support the plan. Just dark money [AIPAC] supports Netanyahu, not Israel.”

The stated mission of AIPAC, the foremost pro-Israel lobbying group in the US, is to seek bipartisan support to strengthen the US-Israel relationship.

Pocan’s comment came in response to an earlier post by AIPAC in which the organization criticized him alongside other progressive US lawmakers — Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Summer Lee (D-PA), and Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), as well as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) — for remaining silent about Hamas’ refusal to participate in a final round of negotiations brokered by the US, Qatar, and Egypt aimed at reaching a ceasefire in Gaza.

“Total silence from the ‘Ceasefire Now’ squad. Where’d you go, [Ocasio-Cortez], [Pocan], [Sanders], [Lee], [and Pressley]?” AIPAC posted. “Their silence speaks volumes. It was never about a ceasefire, only about demonizing Israel.”

Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist group that runs Gaza, announced on Sunday that it would not attend the ceasefire and hostage negotiations, demanding that the talks be based on previously discussed conditions. Israel immediately accepted last week’s invitation by the US, Egypt, and Qatar to attend the meeting, which is to take place in either Cairo or Doha on Thursday. Organizers hope the meeting will help end the 10-month war sparked by Hamas’ invasion of southern Israel on Oct. 7.

AIPAC further criticized Pocan on X/Twitter, accusing him of repeating “tired lies” against Israel. The organization blasted the progressive lawmaker for refusing to assign blame to Hamas for refusing to negotiate with Israel.

“More of the same tired lies and deflection from [Pocan] who will say just about anything to avoid unequivocally calling out Hamas. Why is it so hard for him and the ‘Ceasefire Now’ Squad to single out Hamas for refusing to join the US-backed talks?” AIPAC wrote.

Monday was not the first time that Pocan leveled harsh condemnations at AIPAC. He has called on the pro-Israel group to condemn Netanyahu for committing a “genocide” and suggested the organization wants the Israel-Hamas war to continue for fundraising purposes.

In the months following Hamas’ Oct. 7 slaughter of roughly 1,200 people throughout southern Israel, Pocan has positioned himself as a strong critic of the Jewish state. He has condemned Israel’s defensive military operations in the Gaza Strip, accusing the Jewish state of causing “devastation” and engaging in “indiscriminate killing.” Pocan has also voted against sending additional offensive arms shipments to Israel, claiming that the Jewish state has inflicted unjustifiable atrocities “upon innocent civilians in Gaza.”

Mediators are still planning to hold ceasefire discussions despite Hamas’ expected absence.

An Israeli official told Axios that the terrorist group’s refusal to attend the next round of negotiations is “a tactical move ahead of a possible attack by Iran and Hezbollah and in an attempt to get better terms for the deal.”

Iran and its chief terror proxy Lebanese Hezbollah are expected to launch some kind of attack on Israel in the coming days as revenge for the killings of top Hamas and Hezbollah leaders.

Netanyahu’s office confirmed that the Jewish state plans on sending mediators to the Aug. 15 ceasefire talks in either Doha or Cairo.

“Pursuant to the proposal by the US and the mediators, Israel will — on Aug. 15 — send the negotiations team to a place to be determined in order to finalize the details of the implementation of the framework agreement,” the Israeli premier’s office said in a statement.