The State Department has approved a visa for Bezalel Smotrich, the Israeli finance minister who called for the village of Huwwara to be destroyed as settler violence has surged in the West Bank.
After months of pressure from activists, human rights groups, progressive lawmakers, and members of her family the FBI is finally launching a probe into the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh. The fact that the announcement was made shortly after the Israeli and U.S. elections can hardly be a coincidence.
Family members of slain Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh met with Secretary of State Antony Blinken to reiterate their calls for an independent investigation into her death.
Following the US investigation into Abu Akleh’s killing, which was ruled “inconclusive”, her family are still urging for an open independent investigation by the US, UN, and the ICC.
The Israeli army concluded its investigation last week into the death of Omar Asaad, an 80-year-old dual Palestinian-American citizen who was killed during a violent Israeli raid on his hometown in the occupied West Bank in January. The internal army investigation, which came after mounting pressure from US officials, concluded that Asaad’s death was a “grave and unfortunate event, resulting from a moral failure and poor decision-making on the part of the soldiers.” The US State Department, however, said they were not satisfied with the findings of the army’s investigation, nor with the disciplinary actions taken against some of the soldiers, and that they expect Israeli officials to carry out a “comprehensive criminal investigation.”
According to the State Department Israel has the right to pummel Palestine and kill dozens of civilians. However, when the occupied population fights back, spokesperson Ned Price isn’t in a position to debate legalities.
State Department spokesperson Ned Price is asked whether Palestinians have a right to self-defense similar to Israel. You can guess the response.
Palestinian-Americans were turned back from an Israeli vaccination clinic at a checkpoint outside Ramallah because they held Palestinian ID cards, and the U.S. Embassy won’t help them. “It would be different if all U.S. citizens here were being treated the same,” Wafaa Jallaq tells Mondoweiss. “But when Israel, or being Israeli, is basically the distinction between who gets vaccinated and who doesn’t, that’s when it becomes frustrating. The U.S. has let go of its responsibility towards its citizens in the West Bank.”
Pro-Israel groups and Republicans have been lying about Ilhan Omar’s boycott bill and it seemingly just paid off. The State Department has updated its working definition of antisemitism to include comparisons between current Israeli policies and those of the Nazis.
As scenes of carnage fill the screen with news of another grotesque Israeli attack on…