In one of the Biden administration’s sternest public remarks against Israel amid its war against Hamas, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Israel’s war tactics against Hamas has failed to neutralize the terrorist group and could end up creating a power vacuum in the Palestinian territory of Gaza.
Blinken delivers strongest public rebuke of Israel yet: 'Get out of Gaza' https://t.co/Z9OyzUR3GE
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During an interview on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” Blinken was asked about the U.S. withholding some weapons to Israel, an idea President Joe Biden suggested last Wednesday. In response, Blinken said, “We believe two things. One, you have to have a clear, credible plan to protect civilians, which we haven’t seen. Second, we also need to see a plan for what happens after this conflict in Gaza is over. And we still haven’t seen that because what are we seeing right now? We’re seeing parts of Gaza that Israel has cleared of Hamas, where Hamas is coming back, including in the north, including in Khan Younis.”
“As we look at Rafah, they may go in and have some initial success, but potentially at an incredibly high cost to civilians, but one that is not durable, one that’s not sustainable. And they will be left holding the bag on an enduring insurgency because a lot of armed Hamas will be left, no matter what they do in Rafah, or if they leave and get out of Gaza, as we believe they need to do. Then you’re going to have a vacuum and a vacuum that’s likely to be filled by chaos, by anarchy, and ultimately by Hamas again,” he added.
Blinken also spoke against Israel during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” where he echoed the claim in a Biden administration report presented to Congress on Friday. According to the report, Israel’s use of weapons provided by the U..S in Gaza violated international humanitarian law.
“When it comes to the use of weapons, concerns about incidents where given the totality of the damage that’s been done to children, women, men, it was reasonable to assess that, in certain instances, Israel acted in ways that are not consistent with international humanitarian law,” he stated.
“We treat Israel, one of our closest allies and partners, just as we would treat any other country, including in assessing something like international humanitarian law and its compliance with that,” he added.
Blinken went on to tout Biden’s supposed support for Israel, insisting that “no one has done more than Biden” for the Jewish nation.