State Department spokesperson Ned Price began his Monday press conference by condemning Hamas for launching rockets at Israel. “This is an unacceptable escalation,” declared Price. “While we urge deescalation on all sides, we also recognize Israel’s legitimate right to defend its people and its territory.
Said Arikat, Washington Bureau Chief for al-Quds, had a very direct follow-up question: “Do Palestinians have a right to self-defense?”
“Broadly speaking Said, we believe in the concept of self-defense. We believe it applies to any state,” responded Price.
The AP’s Matt Lee took note of this assertion and had an inquiry later in the press conference. Price had said that any state has a right to self-defense. Does the Biden administration view Palestine as a state? If they do not, was Price saying Palestinians don’t have a right to self-defense?
When pressed on this, Price suggested it was complicated. “I’m not in the position to debate the legalities from up here,” he explained. “Our message is one of deescalation.”
Later in the press conference Price was asked about Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) referring to the situation in Sheikh Jarrah as ethnic cleansing. “That’s not [terminology] we’ve used before,” he said. “That’s not something that our analysis supports.”
According the world’s greatest superpower and democracy, unarmed occupied people do not have the right to protest, pray, and most of all defend itself. The world knows of our hypocrisy, we have shown it every time Israel attacks and kills unarmed Palestinians. Our leaders are immune to criticism and condemnation by the rest of the world, when it comes to Israel and its crimes.
Israel is one of the most disliked nations in the world, and we have become the nation that funds and arms it. We are also known to justify Israel’s consistent breaking of international laws.
What does it make us?
“While we urge deescalation on all sides, we also recognize Israel’s legitimate right to defend its people and its territory.” Pure bafflegab and racism!!
https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Encountering-Peace-Have-We-No-Shame-596738
“ENCOUNTERING PEACE: HAVE WE NO SHAME?”
“What we did, what the State of Israel did, what we do in the name of the Jewish state is becoming pure evil.” BY GERSHON BASKIN
EXCERPT:
JULY 24, 2019, Jerusalem Post
“As I watched the video of the Israeli soldiers and police blowing up one of the 13 residential buildings demolished this week in the Wadi al-Hummus neighborhood of Sur Bahir in east Jerusalem, I wanted to bury myself in shame. When the building imploded and the soldiers laughed as we heard the screams and cries from the Palestinians who became homeless, my shame turned to pure outrage and the urge to be violent. But I will not step down to that level. I will not be violent. But I will not hold back, I will not forget and I will not forgive. What we did, what the State of Israel did, what we do in the name of the Jewish state is becoming pure evil.
“My first thoughts about what I see in the daily reality of east Jerusalem, and the West Bank and Gaza – things such as the Sur Bahir home demolitions; the removal of Palestinians from their homes in Silwan and Sheikh Jarrah, and the moving in of Jewish settlers in their place; settlement expansion and building at a faster pace than I have seen in many years; unauthorized settlements being built, budgeted and hooked up to Israeli infrastructure; massive police presence all over the West Bank ticketing hundreds of Palestinian cars (not cars of settlers); and the ongoing strangling the Palestinian economy in full coordination with the US government – all of these actions and more are leading to a definite explosion….”
So the false outrage begins from nations that have cozy relations with the occupier, schemes with them against Iran, and now pretend they did not know this could happen. Those that threw their own people under the bus:
“UAE, Bahrain pan Israel’s ‘storming’ of Al-Aqsa, amid international condemnationGulf states say Israel has responsibility to de-escalate, blast its ‘provocations’; nations also warn against pending evictions of Sheikh Jarrah Palestinians from their homes” Times of Israel
“Saudi and UAE condemn Israel over Palestinian clashes at Al-Aqsa” Reuters
“Jordan warns Israel against ‘barbaric’ attacks on mosque” Reuters
So what will happen next, will they all support the BSD movement? Nah, not going to happen, Dubai supermarkets have Israeli fruit displayed proudly.
On a webinar today, a man from Jerusalem said he was all in favour of non-violent protest. Well, so am I. But I have to admit that it almost NEVER makes the Western press. And we have all seen that nonviolent Palestinian protest is met with Israeli Jewish violence. (I’m Jewish, so I won’t cavil at calling them Jews, because they are.)