Michael Arria
Mondoweiss / July 10, 2023
On Monday State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller dodged a question on whether Palestinians have the right to defend themselves against Israeli aggression.
On Monday U.S. State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller dodged a question on whether Palestinians have the right to defend themselves against Israeli aggression and told reporters that the situation cannot be compared to what’s happening in Ukraine.
The comments came in response to a question from Al-Quds‘ Said Arikat that was asked shortly after Miller mentioned Russia’s war has now lasted for 500 days.
“Do you know how many days the Palestinians have been occupied by Israel?,” Arikat asked. “20,475..[the Palestinians] are facing a very brutal occupation and unlike the Ukrainians, the Palestinians are not afforded the right to self-defense.
Facing Apache helicopters, American-supplied weapons and so on. Kids throwing stones at these weapons you supply so generously. Do you believe the Palestinian people in Jenin have the right to defend themselves?”
Miller immediately rejected the reference to Russia’s invasion and neglected to answer the question of self-defense directly.
“The United States does not believe these two situations are comparable,” replied Miller. “I am not going to litigate all the differences here at the podium, but in no way do we believe there is a comparison to be drawn here.”
When Arikat referenced Israel’s recent invasion of the Jenin refugee camp and the Biden administration’s rhetoric about the country having the right to defend itself, Miller didn’t dodge for a moment.
“Israel does have the right to defend itself,” said Miller. “We support Israel’s security and its right to defend itself against Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and other terrorist groups. At the same time it is imperative to take all possible steps to protect civilians from harm and facilitate humanitarian and reconstruction supplies for the people of Jenin, like restoring water and electricity services.”
In an op-ed in today’s New York Times Al-Shabaka board president Tareq Baconi makes a direct reference to the parallels between Palestine and Ukraine. “Beneath this evolving context is a singular constant: Israel’s ability to sustain its settlement of Palestinian territory without accountability, while equating Palestinian resistance to terrorism,” he writes. “That this framing has long been accepted among the major Western powers is particularly galling for Palestinians in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, where resistance to illegal occupation is hailed as heroic and supported by Western weapons and military training.”
In a recent interview with CNN President Joe Biden said Israel’s current government contains “some of the most extreme” members he has ever seen, but made no indication that the U.S. plans to take any kind of action against the country. Biden has consistently stated that he does not support conditioning military aid. “We are talking with them regularly, trying to tamp down what is going on,” said Biden. “Hopefully, Bibi will continue move toward moderation and change.”
Michael Arria is the U.S. correspondent for Mondoweiss
