Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) admitted in a series of tweets Friday that the purpose of her trip to Israel centered around “witness[ing] firsthand what is happening on the ground in Palestine” — just as Israeli leadership originally suggested — and called for the U.S. to use aid as “leverage” against Israel.

Israeli leaders announced their decision to bar Omar and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) from Israel Thursday, citing their support of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.

“Only a few days ago, we received their itinerary for their visit in Israel, which revealed that they planned a visit whose sole objective is to strengthen the boycott against us and deny Israel’s legitimacy,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.

It continued:

For instance: they listed the destination of their trip as Palestine and not Israel, and unlike all Democratic and Republican members of Congress who have visited Israel, they did not request to meet any Israeli officials, either from the government or the opposition.

For instance: they listed the destination of their trip as Palestine and not Israel, and unlike all Democratic and Republican members of Congress who have visited Israel, they did not request to meet any Israeli officials, either from the government or the opposition. — PM of Israel (@IsraeliPM) August 15, 2019

Omar reacted to the continuing fallout in a series of tweets Friday afternoon, admitting their original intention to “witness firsthand what is happening on the ground in Palestine.”

“Let’s be clear: the goal of our trip was to witness firsthand what is happening on the ground in Palestine and hear from stakeholders — our job as Members of Congress,” she tweeted, adding, “But since we were unable to fulfill our role as legislators, I am sharing what we would have seen.”

She followed with a lengthy thread and ended with a call, urging the U.S. to use aid as leverage against Israel due to what she believes is the mistreatment of Palestinians:

First, I planned to hold meetings with members of the Knesset (both Jewish and Arab) along with Israeli security officials. The claims of @IsraeliPM otherwise are not true. As a delegation, we were also were scheduling a meeting with @USAmbIsrael. https://t.co/tazkSiUYkM — Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) August 16, 2019

Though these settlements are illegal under international law and threaten peace, settlement growth has skyrocketed under Trump. https://t.co/2oCeHr4q2x — Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) August 16, 2019

Last year, the Trump Admin announced the U.S. will no longer contribute to the United Nations’ relief agency for Palestinian refugees, threatening the livelihood of millions and violating international law.https://t.co/lmoXo6ruZB — Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) August 16, 2019

Israeli officials do not let Members of Congress visit Gaza.https://t.co/66ruDIh5fo — Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) August 16, 2019

77% of shops have closed bc of military occupation. Palestinians walk with garbage nets above their heads, put up to catch trash thrown by settlers. Violent attacks on Palestinians are routine. — Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) August 16, 2019

We planned to visit the separation wall around historic Bethlehem. Only 13% of Bethlehem is now accessible to Palestinian use. The wall, built in 2002 against international law, was said at the time to be “temporary.” It still stands. https://t.co/EVftWuvtLe — Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) August 16, 2019

But my colleagues and I are not the only ones who are being denied the right to see for themselves the reality on the ground in the West Bank. @OmarSShakir is currently facing deportation for his work with Human Rights Watch. https://t.co/LewHoFiKIo — Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) August 16, 2019

And of course, this lack of respect for freedom of movement and freedom of expression is part of the day-to-day lives of Palestinians living in the occupied territories.https://t.co/ZdIgGQUTZg — Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) August 16, 2019

Follow @PeterBeinart, who has an excellent piece laying out the realities of the occupation and making the case for more reporting and visits by Members of Congress. https://t.co/W75ycDHK3w — Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) August 16, 2019

Denying visits to duly elected Members of Congress is not consistent with being either an ally or a democracy. We should be leveraging that aid to stop the settlements and ensure full rights for Palestinians. — Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) August 16, 2019

Omar, however, failed to mention that “notorious Palestinian extremist and Israel boycott defender Hanan Ashrawi” co-sponsored and organized their trip.

As Breitbart News reported:

The cancelled visit was partially organized and co-sponsored by Miftah, an anti-Israel organization headed by Ashrawi, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s executive committee and supporter of BDS. Ashrawi claimed the trip was supposed to be a way for Omar and Tlaib “to engage with the Palestinian people directly and to see things on the ground.” NGO Monitor, a watchdog on extremist nonprofits, notes that Miftah has accused Israel of committing “massacres,” “apartheid,” “summary executions” of Palestinian youth and “Judaizing” Jerusalem. It has also accused Israel of “ethnic-cleansing of Palestinian-Israeli Arabs.”

According to the report, Ashrawi, a leader for the violent First Palestinian Intifada and deputy to late Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) chair and arch-terrorist Yasser Arafat, is known for her support of anti-Israel conspiracy theories and her attempts to justify Palestinian resistance against Israel.