Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday gave one of his most direct condemnations of the civilian death toll in Gaza and said more needs to be done to “minimize harm to Palestinian civilians.”
Although Blinken commended Israel for its announcement of daily military pauses in areas of Northern Gaza and two evacuation corridors, he said that “there is more that can and should be done to minimize harm to Palestinian civilians.”
The top US diplomat has subtly shifted his messaging in the days since he departed the Middle East earlier this week to more directly voice condemnation of the civilian toll in Gaza and the US’ expectations for the Israeli government. However, he still has not condemned the Israeli government offensive and has continually voiced support for its right to defend itself.
I’m pretty sure I’ve seen and read Blinken talk about “concrete plans” for the past couple of weeks already. Where are these plans? Where are the discussions around formalizing them with UN’s backing?
Most importantly, what sort of “concrete plan” does not involve a ceasefire and a hostage exchange with Israel on board? Let’s start there.
Actions talk and bullshit walks. They talk about “pressure” and “negotiations” but they’re trying to ram through a $14 billion arms package.