Senior Democratic leaders issued a unified statement Thursday, denouncing comments made by Minnesota Democrat Rep. Ilhan Omar when she compared U.S. and Israeli "war crimes" to actions by the Taliban and Hamas.

The statement was part of an internecine war of words within the Democratic Party, with some leftist members of the caucus supporting Omar against attacks by the leadership. 

Omar issued a statement Thursday clarifying her comments after she was met with a flood of criticism from not only Republicans on the Hill, but from members of her own party.

Representative Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.) addresses the media and community organizers at a press conference at the vigil site for Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Center, Minn., April 20, 2021. (Nicholas Pfosi/Reuters)

Nearly half of the Jewish Democratic lawmakers in the House signed a letter on Wednesday urging Representative Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.) to clarify a recent comment that they say equated the U.S. and Israel to Hamas and the Taliban.

House Democratic leadership rebuked Representative Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.) over a tweet in which she compared the U.S. and Israel to the Taliban and Hamas.

“Legitimate criticism of the policies of both the United States and Israel is protected by the values of free speech and democratic debate,” the leadership team wrote in a joint statement. “But drawing false equivalencies between democracies like the U.S. and Israel and groups that engage in terrorism like Hamas and the Taliban foments prejudice and undermines progress toward a future of peace and stability for all.”

A group of Jewish Democrats in the House is publicly feuding with Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) after she tweeted about "unthinkable atrocities committed by the U.S., Hamas, Israel, Afghanistan, and the Taliban," in reference to investigations by the International Criminal Court.

Why it matters: The fight threatens to reopen a fault line within the party that could cost Omar her seat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, writes Punchbowl News.

Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (CA) slammed the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) this week for an ad calling out various Democrats — including Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Rep. Rashida Tlaib (MI), and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) — who have criticized Israel for defending itself against Hamas terror attacks. 

One AIPAC ad featured a picture of Omar superimposed over Hamas rocket fire, with the caption, “When Israel targets Hamas, Rep. Omar calls it an ‘act of terrorism.’”

The trial of former cop Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd has left Minneapolis “on edge,” Rep. Ilhan Omar said Sunday.

During an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Omar, the city’s congressional representative, told host Jake Tapper that the trial’s start has re-opened the emotional wound from Floyd’s Memorial Day 2020 death.

“It’s been re-traumatizing,” said Omar, a Democrat. “It’s been really hard. I’ve tried to avoid watching. I know a lot of us here in Minneapolis have done that. … You also want to know the details and hear from the witnesses.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) called on Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) to issue a "public apology" to Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) for promoting a video alleging ballot harvesting after a key source said he was bribed to participate.

“@TulsiGabbard - You, along with everyone else who amplified this fraudulent story, owe Rep. Omar a public apology,” the New York congresswoman tweeted Tuesday.

Project Veritas has released the results of an investigation into alleged ballot harvesting by supporters of Democrat Rep. Ilhan Omar in Minnesota, a key swing state in the 2020 presidential election.

President Trump is calling for an investigation into a report of alleged illegal ballot harvesting by Representative Ilhan Omar’s supporters in Minneapolis.

Trump called on the U.S. attorney in Minnesota to investigate claims made by Project Veritas, an investigative reporting project led by conservative activist James O’Keefe, which reported on Sunday that supporters of the Minnesota Democrat were illegally collecting blank ballots and posting boastful videos of their collections to social media.

Project Veritas has claimed Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar is engaging in illegal ballot harvesting and a cash-for-ballots scheme in her district in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The group, which has targeted mainly liberal groups with "sting" operations, posted a video late on Sunday showing what it claims is evidence of an illegal effort to harvest absentee ballots.

The group's founder, James O'Keefe, alleged on Twitter that Omar's team may have bribed voters in Minnesota's 5th congressional district, which she has represented since 2019.