Providing cover for genocide, Blinken misled Congress about Israel blocking aid to Gaza

Explosive revelations from ProPublica, a respected American nonprofit investigative journalism organisation, suggest that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken may have deliberately misled Congress to provide cover for Israel to conduct its genocide in Gaza.

According to official emails obtained by ProPublica, Blinken received two damning reports from key US government agencies concluding that Israel had deliberately blocked humanitarian aid to Gaza. These reports were delivered just days before Blinken told Congress the exact opposite.

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration both determined in late April that Israel was intentionally impeding the delivery of food and medicine to Gaza. USAID’s 17-page memo detailed instances of Israeli interference, including killing aid workers, bombing hospitals and routinely turning away trucks full of essential supplies.

Despite these findings, on 10 May, Blinken told Congress: “We do not currently assess that the Israeli government is prohibiting or otherwise restricting the transport or delivery of US humanitarian assistance.”

This discrepancy is particularly significant as US law requires the government to halt weapons shipments to countries that prevent the delivery of US-backed humanitarian aid. Israel has been heavily reliant on American weapons in its ongoing military campaign in Gaza and many believe that the occupation state would not be able to execute its military onslaught without the support of Washington.

The leaked documents suggest that Blinken’s statement may have been a deliberate attempt to circumvent this legal requirement, allowing the continued flow of arms to Israel despite clear evidence of aid blockades. Blinken’s action potentially facilitated the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, in which the UN has now declared a famine.

Israel starves Gaza: The Great Famine

Blinken’s alleged deception raises serious questions about the US government’s complicity in what many international observers have termed a genocide in Gaza. By potentially lying to Congress and the American public, Blinken may have not only violated US law but also helped conceal the true extent of the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Palestine due to Israeli aggression.

The revelation comes at a time of increasing international scrutiny of Israel’s actions in Gaza and growing calls for accountability. Israel is on trial for genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Its leaders are also facing possible arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court. Israel’s occupation has been deemed illegal by the ICJ and the UN has demanded that the apartheid state end its illegal occupation in 12 months.

At a time of near universal consensus around the threat to the international system posed by Israel, the apparent willingness of high-ranking US officials to misrepresent facts to protect Israel’s military campaign is likely to further intensify debates about the US’s role in the conflict and its commitment to international humanitarian law.