(C) U.S. State Dept This story was originally published by U.S. State Dept and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Secretary Antony J. Blinken With Margaret Brennan of CBS’s Face the Nation [1] [] Date: 2024-05 QUESTION: Good morning, Mr. Secretary. I know military experts say Gaza is as complicated and challenging a battlefield as any modern warfare has seen. But back in December President Biden said Israel conducted indiscriminate bombing; in February he said Israel’s offensive was over the top; and then this past week he was asked on CNN about pausing the delivery of 3,500 bombs. Here’s what he said. PRESIDENT BIDEN: Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they go after population centers. And I made it clear that if they go into Rafah, I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities, to deal with that problem. QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, is Israel living up to international humanitarian law standards? SECRETARY BLINKEN: Well, first, Margaret, good morning. The report that we put out lays out some of the concerns that we’ve had throughout this period when it comes to humanitarian assistance, particularly the early months after October 7th, and when it comes to the use of weapons, concerns about incidents where, given the totality of the damage that’s been done to children, women, men, it was reasonable to assess that in certain instances, Israel acted in ways that are not consistent with international humanitarian law. It’s also critical to note that Israel itself has accountability processes to get at this. There are hundreds of ongoing inquiries looking at different incidents that have taken place since October 7th. There are criminal investigations that are going forward. Unlike most other countries in the world, Israel has the ability, the means, and the actions to self-correct. But we’ve been on this every single day. QUESTION: So you have been able, then, to conclude that Israel has violated U.S. laws and weapons-sharing agreements? SECRETARY BLINKEN: No, what we’ve concluded is, in the case of the use of weapons, as you said, this is an extraordinarily complex military environment in which you have an enemy, Hamas, that committed the most atrocious terrorist attacks on Israel on October 7th and then retreats to Gaza, hides behind and underneath civilians, in hospitals, schools, mosques, apartment buildings, and that makes it very difficult to determine – particularly in the midst of war – exactly what happened and to draw any final conclusions from any one incident. So we have a number of incidents that we continue to look at to try to get the best possible assessment. The Israelis themselves are doing the same thing. QUESTION: Yeah. SECRETARY BLINKEN: Our assessments will be ongoing. But as I said, given the totality of what we’ve seen in terms of civilian suffering, in terms of children, women, men caught in this crossfire of Hamas’s making who’ve been killed or been injured, it’s reasonable to assess that in a number of instances, Israel has not acted in a manner that’s consistent with international humanitarian law. QUESTION: So I understand you’re still collecting evidence, but — SECRETARY BLINKEN: That’s right. QUESTION: — on the policy, can you clarify? Because even the lead Democrat on House Armed Services says it’s not clear. Is the U.S. slowing down the delivery of any weapons to Israel at this point beyond the 3,500 so-called dumb bombs? SECRETARY BLINKEN: As you know, Margaret, most of the population from Gaza displaced from the north and from central Gaza has gone to Rafah. QUESTION: Right. SECRETARY BLINKEN: There are about 1.4 million people there. And we’ve said to Israel that we cannot, will not support an operation in Rafah – a major military operation – in the absence of a credible plan to protect civilians. We haven’t seen that plan. QUESTION: And they still haven’t delivered it. So are you — SECRETARY BLINKEN: We have not seen that plan. QUESTION: — slowing the delivery of any weapons beyond these 3,500 bombs? SECRETARY BLINKEN: No. QUESTION: Are you pausing, for example, precision munitions, as some Republicans have claimed? SECRETARY BLINKEN: Right, the answer to that – the answer to that is no. What the President said and what he’s been clear about in private conversations with the Israelis – which unfortunately leaked to the press, so the President responded forthrightly when he was asked about it – but what we’ve been clear about is that if Israel launches this major military operation into Rafah, then there are certain systems that we’re not going to be supporting and supplying for that operation. But at present, the only thing that we’ve delayed and are holding back are these high-payload bombs because we’re in an ongoing conversation with Israel, given the impact that those weapons can have when they’re used in densely populated areas, including an area like Rafah. QUESTION: So you still might deliver them? SECRETARY BLINKEN: So we’re in an active conversation with Israel about that. We have real concerns about the way they’re used. But here’s something else that’s critically important, Margaret. We believe two things. One, you have to have a clear, credible plan to protect civilians, which we haven’t seen. Second, we also need to see a plan for what happens after this conflict in Gaza open – is over. And we still haven’t seen that. Because what are we seeing right now? We’re seeing parts of Gaza that Israel has cleared of Hamas where Hamas is coming back — QUESTION: Right. SECRETARY BLINKEN: — including in the north, including in Khan Younis. As we look at Rafah, they may go in and have some initial success, but potentially at an incredibly high cost to civilians, but one that is not durable, one that is not sustainable. QUESTION: Yeah. SECRETARY BLINKEN: And they will be left holding the bag on an enduring insurgency because a lot of armed Hamas will be left no matter what they do in Rafah. Or if they leave and get out of Gaza, as we believe they need to do, then you’re going to have a vacuum, and a vacuum that’s likely to be filled by chaos, by anarchy, and ultimately by Hamas again. QUESTION: Yeah. SECRETARY BLINKEN: So we’ve been working for many, many weeks on developing credible plans for security, for governance, for rebuilding. We haven’t seen that come from Israel. We’ve been working with Arab countries and others on that plan. We need to see that too. We have the same objective as Israel. We want to make sure that Hamas cannot govern Gaza again. QUESTION: Well — SECRETARY BLINKEN: We want to make sure it’s demilitarized. We want to make sure that Israel gets its leaders. That’s what we’re determined to do. QUESTION: Yeah. SECRETARY BLINKEN: We have a different way – and we think a more effective, durable way – of getting that done. We remain in conversation with Israel about exactly that. QUESTION: Well, Mr. Secretary, your National Security Memorandum that you signed says Israeli civilian harm mitigation efforts are, quote, “inconsistent, ineffective, and inadequate.” The prime minister himself said Israel assesses the IDF killed 14,000 terrorists and 16,000 civilians. Does the U.S. share the Israeli assessment that more civilians have been killed than actual terrorists? SECRETARY BLINKEN: Yes, we do. And I think the report makes clear that while Israel has processes, procedures, rules, regulations, to try to minimize civilian harm, given the impact that this operation, this war in Gaza, has had on the civilian population, that — QUESTION: And yet you’re still surging weapons to Israel. SECRETARY BLINKEN: — those have not been – those have not been applied consistently and effectively. There’s a gap between the stated intent and some of the result we’ve seen. But because it’s so complicated in the midst of a war – and particularly in the midst of a war where you have an enemy that hides in civilian infrastructure, hides behind civilians – to make final determinations on these individual incidents, we’re looking at the totality of what’s happened. We think it’s reasonable to assess, based on what’s happened, that there have been acts that have been inconsistent with Israel’s obligations under international humanitarian law. But we haven’t drawn definitive conclusions. We need to pursue these investigations, just as Israel is doing itself. QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, thank you for your time this morning. SECRETARY BLINKEN: Thanks, Margaret. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.state.gov/secretary-antony-j-blinken-with-margaret-brennan-of-cbss-face-the-nation-4/ Published and (C) by U.S. State Dept Content appears here under this condition or license: Public Domain. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/usstate/