United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken refuted allegations on Sunday that the United States was trying to avoid holding Israel accountable for its military actions in Gaza, emphasizing that the U.S. does not have double standards when it comes to upholding international humanitarian law.
In an interview on CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday, host Margaret Brennan questioned Blinken about a report submitted by the State Department to Congress last Friday. The report stated that there were grounds to assess that Israel violated international humanitarian law, but because specific illegal cases were not identified, it did not confirm any unlawful behavior by Israel.
Blinken stated, “The report we issued lays out some of our concerns over humanitarian assistance throughout this period, particularly in the early months after October 7. Given the harm to children, women, and men, concerns about the use of weapons and incidents, it is justified to assess that in certain circumstances, Israel’s actions do not comply with international humanitarian law.”
Regarding the U.S. conclusion that Israel violated a weapons sharing agreement, Blinken declined to comment, only saying, “Hamas’ style of combat makes it difficult to determine – especially during a war – what exactly happened, and it’s also difficult to draw any final conclusions from any one event.”
During an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, when host Kristen Welker also asked about the report and whether the U.S. was trying to avoid holding Israel accountable for its actions, Blinken stated, “No. We do not have double standards.”
Blinken emphasized, “In assessing issues such as international humanitarian law and Israel’s compliance with that law, we treat our closest ally and partner, Israel, just like any other country.”
“The report also clearly states that this is an extremely complex military environment. Your enemies purposely mingle with civilians, hiding in schools, mosques, under and inside apartment buildings, and firing at Israeli forces from these locations.”
Blinken reiterated his statements from the CBS program and stated, “At the same time, we continue to assess and investigate each incident, but the key point is that Israel is doing the same.”