America’s leading diplomat has reportedly misinformed U.S. lawmakers regarding Israel’s obstruction of humanitarian aid to Gaza, where over 2 million Palestinians are trapped under continuous bombardment from Israel.
During a hearing in May, Secretary of State Antony Blinken asserted that Israel was not “prohibiting or otherwise restricting the transport or delivery of U.S. humanitarian assistance” to the Palestinians. This claim came despite prior warnings from two major U.S. agencies, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, which informed both the Secretary and senior diplomats about Israel’s deliberate blockade of aid into Palestinian territories.
USAID’s memo highlighted that Israel’s “arbitrary denial, restriction, and impediments of U.S. humanitarian assistance” have led to “one of the worst humanitarian catastrophes in the world.”
U.S. law prohibits Washington from supplying weapons to any countries that obstruct the transfer of U.S.-backed humanitarian aid, including Israel, which has repeatedly done so. Nevertheless, the U.S. remains the largest arms supplier to Israel despite its blatant violations of both American and international law.
Calls for Resignation
After the leaks of memos from these agencies, revealing Blinken’s efforts to downplay Israeli war crimes, some have demanded his resignation due to violations of U.S. and humanitarian laws.
“Antony Blinken lied to Congress even though he knew Israel was deliberately starving Gaza— all to keep arming the genocide. We demand that @SecBlinken resign and that @JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris stop illegally arming Israel NOW!” tweeted Jill Stein, the Green Party’s presidential nominee and an American Jew, on X.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the largest Muslim civil rights organization in the U.S., also called for Blinken’s resignation. “The American people deserve leaders who tell the truth. It’s time to hold the Biden administration accountable for its ongoing complicity in the Israeli genocide in Gaza,” the organization declared on X.
Interestingly, Blinken faces calls for resignation not only from pro-Palestinian groups but also from Republicans—historically allies of Israel—who accuse him of mishandling the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Republicans have previously proposed impeaching Blinken for high crimes and misdemeanors.
Not the First Instance
Blinken’s tendency to obscure realities in Gaza and his uncritical support for Israel is not a recent development. Last month, he intervened to prevent American sanctions against the notorious Netzah Yehuda battalion of the Israeli army, which is associated with the radical right-wing settler movement known as Hilltop Youth.
A State Department panel had recommended sanctions against this battalion for serious human rights violations against Palestinians in the occupied territories. However, after discussions with Israeli officials, Blinken chose not to impose sanctions, claiming that Tel Aviv had reformed the battalion. Nevertheless, an extensive CNN investigation revealed that former commanders of the battalion were not punished but rather promoted for their documented rights violations.
A 1997 U.S. law, known as the Leahy Law, prohibits military assistance to foreign states guilty of “gross violations of human rights.”
Since the October 7 attacks, Blinken has repeatedly visited Israel to negotiate a potential hostage and ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. To date, he has failed to achieve a pause in Israeli attacks on Gaza.
In mid-August, during another visit to Israel, he made vague promises about a deal. While no concrete signs indicated that the Netanyahu government was open to a ceasefire, Blinken claimed that Israel had “agreed” to a deal, which proved to be another false assertion.
As senior U.S. officials recently acknowledged that a ceasefire deal in Gaza is “out of reach” for the Biden administration, many speculated whether Blinken is simply buying time for Israel to continue its brutal attacks on Palestinians.
Blinken was in Jerusalem immediately following the October 7 attacks, standing in solidarity with Netanyahu, who may soon face arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court for war crimes against Palestinians. In a controversial statement, Blinken remarked that he was in Israel “not only as the United States Secretary of State but also as a Jew,” reaffirming his full support for Netanyahu’s military actions against Gaza, which many view as having a “genocidal” intent.
