Blinken faces calls to resign after misleading Congress to cover for Israel’s genocide

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is facing mounting pressure to resign after a report earlier this week uncovered that he misled Congress about Israel’s obstruction of humanitarian aid to Gaza. The 62-year-old, who is a staunch Zionist, is said to have misled the American people to maintain US weapons flow to Israel despite fears that the apartheid state is committing genocide in Gaza.

The report details how Blinken contradicted findings from his own department’s experts and USAID in a May report to Congress, stating that Israel was not “prohibiting or otherwise restricting the transport or delivery of US humanitarian assistance” to Gaza. It’s believed that Blinken misled the government because US law prohibits the supply of arms to countries blocking American humanitarian aid.

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As a small country lacking the means to manufacture weapons at a rate required to execute regular wars and preserve its so-called deterrence capacity, Israel’s ability to carry out a year-long assault on Gaza would be severely hampered without the constant supply of weapons from the US and its western allies.

Israel’s military strength is often attributed to its advanced technological capabilities and highly-skilled armed forces. However, despite its reputation, Israel remains heavily reliant on foreign military aid, particularly from the US, to sustain its military operations over the long term. The dependence is largely due to the limitations of Israel’s relatively small economy, its industrial base and its workforce capacity.

Nihad Awad, national executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), is one of several people calling for Blinken’s resignation. “When a senior American official lies to Congress in the middle of genocide so that the government can keep funding that genocide, he is deliberately flouting the law and prolonging the suffering of millions of innocent people,” said Awad.

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Others have called for Blinken’s impeachment. Under US law, misleading Congress is grounds for impeachment. Sam Perlo-Freeman, an academic and former researcher for the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, is reported saying that Blinken “should resign or be impeached.”

Stacy Gilbert, a State Department official, resigned over the final report to Congress, citing “abundant evidence showing Israel is responsible for blocking aid” and calling the denial “absurd and shameful.” Gilbert is one of dozens of US official to resign over Washington providing cover for Israel’s genocide.

Human rights organisations and academic circles have joined the calls for Blinken’s resignation or impeachment. The controversy has also reignited discussions about the Biden administration’s broader stance on Israel’s aggression on Gaza.

President Joe Biden and Secretary Blinken have been accused of parroting Israeli talking points from the outset to support Israel’s campaign in Gaza. In October, both Biden and Blinken repeated claims about beheaded babies, which were later proven to be false, further damaging their credibility on the issue and raising questions about the administration’s handling of information presented to them by Israel.