In a stinging rebuke of Jerusalem’s prosecution of its war against Hamas in Gaza, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday warned Israel that it does not have “a license to dehumanize others.”
“Israelis were dehumanized in the most horrific way on October 7, ”said Blinken in prepared remarks at a Tel Aviv press conference. “The hostages have been dehumanized every day since. But that cannot be a license to dehumanize others.”
The White House has not hidden its dissatisfaction with Israel over civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip and the humanitarian situation there throughout the war, but Wednesday’s critique was the harshest to date.
Blinken spent a significant part of his remarks on those topics, after a day of meetings with Israel’s political and military leadership.
“The overwhelming majority of people in Gaza had nothing to do with the attacks of October 7,” Blinken said. “The families in Gaza whose survival depends on deliveries of aid from Israel are just like our families. They’re mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, who want to earn a decent living, send their kids to school, have a normal life. That’s who they are. That’s what they want.
“And we cannot, we must not lose sight of that. We cannot, we must not, lose sight of our common humanity,” he added.
Blinken said that the US has pressed and continues to press Israel “in concrete ways to strengthen civilian protection” and to get more assistance to those who need it.
Blinken also called for ” a concrete, time-bound and irreversible path” to a Palestinian state alongside Israel, both living in peace and security. That vision includes “an Israel that’s fully integrated into the region, with normal relations with key countries including Saudi Arabia.”
Blinken opened his remarks with an update on hostage talks, saying his reason for returning to Israel for the 7th time since the Hamas attacks is “first and foremost to consult with our partners to bring all the remaining hostages home.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected Hamas’s “delusional” conditions for a new hostage deal in a press conference earlier in the evening, arguing that only military pressure will secure the release of the Israelis being held captive in the Gaza Strip.
“Surrender to Hamas’s delusional demands, that we’ve just heard, not only would not bring about the freedom of the hostages, but it would only invite an additional slaughter; it would invite disaster for Israel that no Israeli citizens want,” Netanyahu said.
4 comments:
Does he say that about Nagasaki?
Does he say that about North Vietnam?
Does he say that about Dresden?
This is an excellent tactic to get the Pro Hamas Americans to vote for the Democrat candidate. Anti-Israel words with sanctions on settlers give the voters some alignment with the leftist Democrat party at the end of the day.
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