The State Department’s annual human rights report accepts Israel’s dubious story on Shireen Abu Akleh’s killing.

State Dept spokesperson Ned Price is stepping down. He often struggled to show concern for Palestinians while making clear the U.S. would do nothing to hold Israel accountable. Here are a few of his highlights.

Activist groups call on U.S. to deny entry to Israel’s finance minister after fascistic comments re Palestinian town. He is due to address Israel Bonds conference in mid-March.

While the Biden administration claims to oppose “unilateral steps that make a two-state solution harder to achieve,” Israel has already crossed the “red line” of annexation.

The Alliance for Global Justice’s had its online fundraising platform shut down after complaints from a Zionist lawfare group. Is Israel’s war on human rights groups coming to the U.S.?

The State Department was asked multiple times whether or not the Biden administration was prepared to do anything to impede Israel’s new West Bank settlement plans– legalizing Jewish outposts– beyond the customary condemnations. Ned Price’s answer was “No,” but he used many words to get there.

Yesterday in a shocking exchange at the State Department, the spokesman for Biden’s foreign policy team refused to describe Palestinians in Jenin and other areas of the West Bank as living under military occupation by Israel.

Last month, Secretary of State Antony Blinken declared that the Biden administration would judge incoming Israeli leaders on their actions. So far it has remained silent as the new Israeli leaders have taken proactive actions in Jerusalem, and Israeli forces have killed four Palestinians in the first week of 2023.

Ben & Jerry’s is a company that made progressive politics part of its global brand from the very beginning. It’s openly embraced environmentalism, voting rights, the Black Lives Matter movement, and other causes. Palestine has long been viewed as a third rail issue, even among liberals, but not in this case. The political attacks and economic threats didn’t stop the company’s board from suing its parent company or deter it from adding the disclaimer and updated map to its website. If Ben & Jerry’s can show other companies that they can divest from apartheid and survive, that’s a positive.

Al Jazeera is submitting a case to the International Criminal Court over the killing of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. Not surprisingly, the Biden administration doesn’t support it.