By Way of Deception: State Dept. Pretending It Recognizes the Geneva Conventions
Miller proclaimed: "We of course accept the Geneva Conventions"; but when asked why he didn't specify occupied Palestinian territory, he replied: "I meant exactly what I said." And laughed.
On Wednesday at the State Department briefing, this exchange occurred between myself and spokesperson Matthew Miller:
HUSSEINI: Before I get to my question, just a follow-up on Said [Arikat] and some other people. Can I get a yes or no as to whether or not the US accepts the Geneva Conventions as applying to the occupied Palestinian territory?
MILLER: We of course accept the Geneva Conventions. Go ahead.
HUSSEINI: Okay. I wasn’t able to get that before. Thank you.
I then went on to ask about Uniting for Peace, which may be a way to get around the US obstruction at the UN Security Council.
Miller acted as though it were unthinkable the US would attempt to get around the Geneva Conventions, a major cornerstone of international law. In fact, they may well be abrogating the Geneva Conventions.
I had asked about the Geneva Conventions in a series of questions in November and got evasive answers, leading law professor Francis Boyle to warn at the time: “This sounds pretty ominous to me in that it seems the Bidenites are going along with Israel turning Gaza into a free-fire zone.”
When I pushed for clarity on Nov. 10 from deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel, he threatened to ask me “to leave” for attempting to insist on a response. My prior reporting lead many to conclude with good reason: “USA does not believe that the Geneva Conventions apply to Palestinians.”
In December, Akbar Shahid Ahmed reported in Huffington Post in “Amid U.N. Security Council Intrigue, U.S. Privately Moves To Block Another Option For International Accountability For Gaza” that: “The Biden administration is finalizing plans to urge Switzerland to reject a request from Palestine and its supporters to hold a conference on violations of the Geneva Conventions.”
On Thursday at the State Department, I was not called on at the media briefing despite repeated efforts.
After the briefing, I immediately approached Miller and asked if he meant on Wednesday to say that the State Department accepted the Geneva Conventions as applying to the occupied Palestinian territories. (I had also emailed the question to the State Department media office on Wednesday night but still have not received a response.)
He said: "I meant exactly what I said."
When I asked if he doesn't recognize the Geneva Conventions as applying to the occupied Palestinian territories, he said the briefing ended 30 seconds ago and motioned that his lips were zipped.
I noted that he didn't call on me during the briefing.
He laughed and said "Yeah."
Audio:
The Hansell memo of 1978 cited the Geneva Convention and stated “the establishment of the Israeli civilian settlements in the territories occupied by Israel is inconsistent with international law.” As Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo stated: “We’re disavowing the deeply flawed 1978 Hansell memo.”
Early this year Israeli journalist Barak Ravid claimed in Axios: “Blinken reverses Trump-era policy on Israeli settlements in occupied West Bank.”
For more, on recent developments, see: “New World Court Order Against Israel: Could Uniting for Peace Stop Israel's Assault?”
See prior pieces on State Department and Geneva Conventions from November:
Sam, how do you think these folks live with themselves. Alcohol, drugs? How are they able to detach?
I missed this the first time around and am shocked to read it now. The US has become a completely lawless power, and there’s no one to hold it to account, except perhaps its own citizens, who are unfortunately often too caught up in their own delusions to do anything about it.