Blinken ignored US assessments that Israel blocked aid to Gaza: Report
Al Jazeera
Acknowledging Israel blocked US aid to Palestinians would have triggered a ban on arms transfers to Israel.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken ignored assessments by United States government agencies and officials indicating that Israel blocked US aid to Gaza earlier this year, a new report has revealed, with the top US diplomat presenting a different conclusion to Congress.
Investigative news outlet ProPublica reported on Tuesday that the US Agency for International Development (USAID) told the State Department in a late April report that Israel was subjecting US humanitarian aid destined for Gaza to “arbitrary denial, restriction and impediments”.
ProPublica said that officials in the State Department’s refugee bureau also found in April that “facts on the ground indicate US humanitarian assistance is being restricted”.
But in May, Blinken delivered a State Department report to Congress with a different conclusion.
“We do not currently assess that the Israeli government is prohibiting or otherwise restricting the transport or delivery of US humanitarian assistance,” the State Department said in its May 10 assessment.
