AA / Washington / Servet Gunerigo
Outgoing US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was questioned by two journalists on Thursday about the genocide in the Gaza Strip during a press conference at the State Department.
American journalist Max Blumenthal interrupted Blinken’s statements at the start of the briefing, saying that 300 journalists in Gaza had been targeted by American bombs.
“Why did you continue to supply bombs when we had a deal in May? We all knew there was a deal. Everyone in this room knows there was a deal, Tony, and you let the bombs fall. Why did you sacrifice the founded order on the altar of your commitment to Zionism? » shouted Blumenthal.
“Why did you allow my friends to be massacred? Why did you let my friends’ homes in Gaza be destroyed when we had an agreement in May? You have just helped destroy our religion, Judaism, by associating it with fascism. You wave the white flag in front of the Israeli fascists. Your father-in-law was an Israeli lobbyist. Your grandfather was an Israeli lobbyist. Are you compromised by Israel? Why did you allow the Holocaust of our time? How do you feel about your legacy being one of genocide? How do you feel about your legacy being one of genocide? You too, Matt, smile sarcastically every day at all this. You laugh in the face of genocide,” he continued, referring to Matthew Miller, a spokesperson for the agency.
Another journalist, Sam Husseini, also protested Blinken and was forcibly removed from the press room after interrupting Blinken’s press conference.
– Husseini called Blinken a “criminal”.
“Everyone from Amnesty International to the ICJ (International Court of Justice) says Israel is committing genocide and exterminations, and you’re asking me to respect the process? Why aren’t you in The Hague? » said Husseini.
-The press conference came a day after Qatar announced a ceasefire agreement to end more than 15 months of Israeli attacks on Gaza, which have claimed more than 46,000 lives since on October 7, 2023. This offensive reduced the territory to ruins and caused a humanitarian catastrophe.
– A three-phase agreement is expected to come into force on Sunday.
The deal includes a prisoner exchange and sustained calm, aimed at establishing a permanent truce and ensuring the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
In November 2024, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case before the International Court of Justice over its war against the enclave.
Translated from English by Adama Bamba
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