Bliken’s Gaza Policy Confronted by Democratic Lawmakers
Washington, MINA – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was confronted by a Democratic lawmaker on Wednesday while testifying before the House Foreign Affairs Committee about the continued flow of weapons to Israel, despite Israel’s war crimes in Gaza, Anadolu Agency reported.
Joaquin Castro, a Texas representative, sharply criticized the “inhumane” actions of the Israeli government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing it of committing war crimes through its repeated targeting of civilians in Gaza, including those in camps, hospitals and churches.
In his remarks, Castro said: “We condemn (Palestinian group) Hamas in the strongest terms, sanction Hamas and other terrorist groups, and warn anyone not to sit with them. At the same time, what we see from the Israeli government, led by Netanyahu, is inhumane. In fact, it amounts to a war crime.”
Castro also criticized the U.S. failure to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, saying greater influence should be given to the Netanyahu government, which is reminiscent of tactics used by former President Ronald Reagan, who withheld offensive weapons to influence Israeli policy.
“The world is much more transparent now… The world can see the inhumanity on both sides,” he said.
“We have taken action to go after Hamas, label them terrorists, sanction them, whatever we can do to stop them. But we have not done enough to stop Benjamin Netanyahu and what he is doing to the Palestinians. And my question is do you believe we should have done something different?”
In his response, Blinken acknowledged the complexity of the situation.
“For us, for me, there will be plenty of time to look back and ask ourselves whether we could have and should have done something different,” he said.
He defended the U.S. action, emphasizing efforts to prevent further escalation, protect civilians and prevent a wider war involving the Lebanese group Hezbollah, Iran and others.
He stressed that since Hamas’s October 7, 2023, cross-border attack on Israel, their three main goals have been “to ensure that October 7 never happens again, to prevent a wider war” and to protect civilians.
“We have worked every day to do that. I have also visited the region 12 times since October 7. “I’ll be back in an hour or two to continue to work on getting a ceasefire and a hostage deal to bring the hostages home, stop the shooting, put Gaza on a better path, and in the meantime, try to make sure that people get the aid that they desperately need,” he continued.
Pressed by other representatives on whether President Joe Biden has done enough to support Israel, Blinken noted that Biden is the first sitting U.S. president to visit Israel during a time of war, underscoring U.S. efforts to bolster Israel’s defenses, particularly in response to Iranian attacks.
Asked about the possibility of a ceasefire and a hostage swap deal in Gaza, Blinken said those efforts are “ongoing.”
Blinken’s testimony came hours before his flight to the region, where he will visit Jordan and Turkey to discuss regional issues, including developments in Syria, Gaza and Lebanon. (T/RE1/P2)
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
