State Department spokesperson Ned Price is asked whether Palestinians have a right to self-defense similar to Israel. You can guess the response.
As U.S. State Department calls on Palestine and Israel to “deescalate” tensions in Jerusalem, the US progressive movement and several politicians blame Israel for the violence.
A new regime takes over in Washington and just like that the monotonous press conference is back. Out go the carnival barkers gripped by imperial bluster, in come the liberal interventionists well-versed in DC doublespeak.
The State Department briefing is turning into a forum for reporters who are impatient with the charade of a two-state solution. Said Arikat asks what the US is doing about his cousin Ahmed Erekat’s killing at an Israeli military checkpoint in the occupied West Bank last June, and the “torment” of his family because Israel won’t release Ahmed’s body.
US policy denying Palestinians any avenue of redress against Israeli human rights violations is a public joke, as Matt Lee grills State Spox Ned Price over opposition to ICC jurisdiction. “Where do they go? Where do they go?” And Price has no answer.
If Palestinian anti-apartheid activist Issa Amro was one of the Russian or Chinese human rights defenders being accused of bogus charges and unfairly convicted by a military court, we would have certainly heard his name on the Senate floor or during a White House press briefing, says Jamil Dakwar.