State Department Deputy Press Secretary Vedant Patel found himself pummeled in his Nov. 6 press conference by questions pointing to U.S. complicity in the genocide underway against the Palestinians in Gaza, and the damage that is doing to U.S. standing in the world. Among the questions were these:
Do you believe that Israel has not violated any international law, humanitarian law, the Geneva Convention, with the staggering figures that we are citing today?
Is it acceptable to destroy Gaza under the umbrella of self-defense?
The Jordanian Air Force air-dropped medical assistance to Palestinians in Gaza. Why can’t the U.S. do the same, perhaps add water bottles or food that can be dropped from the air, as has been done in many other conflict areas?
Has the U.S. done enough to get Israel to act in line with international law? Millions of people around the world are waiting for a clear answer from the U.S. to that question. Does the U.S. support Israel’s such actions, or are you concerned by them? Here, Patel was blunt: “We believe that Israel has every right to defend itself and to defend its security.” Period.
