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“Why aren’t you in The Hague”: Blinken heckled at press conference
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was heckled during his remarks on the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
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“Finally, I just wanted to share this morning…” Off-camera: “Don’t touch me. Don’t touch me. Don’t touch me. Answer a damn question. “I look forward to answering the questions in a few minutes.” “Do you know about Israel’s nuclear weapons? Everyone from the ICJ… I was sitting here quietly, and now I’m being manhandled by two or three people. You pontificate on a free press. You pontificate on freedom of the press. You’re hurting me. You’re hurting me. You’re hurting me. I’m asking questions after Matt Miller told me he won’t answer my questions until I’m…” “Please, sir, respect the process. We will have the opportunity to answer questions in a few minutes. “What is the point of the May 31 declaration to block the ICJ orders? You blocked the ICJ orders. “Please, sir, respect the process. Thank you.” “Respect the process. Respect the process when everyone, everyone, from Amnesty International, from Amnesty International to the ICJ, is saying that Israel is committing genocide and extermination, and you are telling me to respect the process Criminal: why are you not in The Hague?
In a dramatic display of anger over U.S. support for Israel’s war in Gaza, a farewell news conference by Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken was interrupted by two pro-Palestinian journalists who accused him of of having allowed the “genocide”.
One of them shouted: “Criminal! Why aren’t you in The Hague? as security officers carried him from the State Department briefing room.
Another journalist was kicked out of the room at the start of a rare appearance by Mr. Blinken, who came to summarize his four-year term and answer journalists’ final questions.
At the news conference, Blinken said that despite reports of last-minute hiccups, he was “confident” that the ceasefire deal reached this week by Hamas and Israel would begin. to be implemented on Sunday as planned.
Mr. Blinken otherwise touched on largely familiar topics in answering questions largely focused on criticism of the Biden administration’s continued supply of weapons to Israel as Palestinian casualties mounted, with Mr. Blinken noting that Hamas is is integrated among civilians. “Some say we have done too much to restrict Israel,” he said. “Others say we have done too much to allow.”
But the news conference was most memorable for the outbursts that peppered Mr. Blinken’s opening remarks, the likes of which Aaron David Miller, a longtime former diplomat, said on X he had never seen.
The man arrested from his headquarters and taken away by several security agents was Sam Husseini, who describes himself online as “an independent journalist and writer who has been uncovering the falsifications of the establishment for 25 years” and is known for his confrontational questions at within the department. information sessions.
The other reporter was Max Blumenthal, a prominent left-wing journalist and fierce critic of Israeli policies, who asked Mr. Blinken: “How does it feel to see your legacy be genocide?”
Then, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he added: “You waved the white flag in front of Netanyahu!
Such invectives are now all too familiar to Mr. Blinken, who was recently shouted down and called a war criminal by protesters during remarks he made on Gaza at a think tank in Washington this week. In each case, Mr. Blinken remained largely unfazed and continued his remarks once calm returned to the room.
