1 week Ago By Batool
Subscribe Search Search Sort by Relevance Title Date Subscribe "I don't know how you can sleep at night when you're killing so many kids in tents," a protester said of Blinken during his testimony. A group of pro-Palestine protesters have repeatedly disrupted Secretary of State Antony Blinken's testimony before a House of Representatives panel on the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan. One protester shouted: "Bloody Blinken" and "Butcher of Gaza" as Blinken began his remarks on Wednesday.
A second demonstrator, holding a sign that read: "Stop Bombing Kids," yelled: "Stop killing kids in Gaza" and "I don't know how you can sleep at night when you're killing so many kids in tents." The protester was arrested and removed from the chamber. Blinken continued his testimony despite the disruptions.
This wasn't the first time Blinken got disrupted by pro-Palestine protesters. On May 21, he was repeatedly interrupted by pro-Palestine protesters as he was delivering his testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Earlier this year, activists camped outside his house in Virginia for almost a week and used many measures to deliver their message, including splashing fake blood on his car and leaving messages on his door.
'Complicit in genocide' The interruptions didn't spare President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris either. In June, Biden was heckled by a group of pro-Palestine protesters who shouted, "You're complicit in genocide" during his speech at Everytown's Gun Sense University in Washington, DC. In October, when he was offering apologies for the US government's role in running abusive Native American boarding schools for more than 150 years, he was interrupted by a protester who shouted: "How can you apologise for a genocide while committing a genocide in Palestine?" During one of her presidential campaigns in Michigan, Harris was interrupted by pro-Palestine protesters.
"Israel bombs, Kamala pays, how many kids will you kill today?" protesters said then. The US, Israel's primary supporter, provides nearly 70 percent of its weapons, along with significant diplomatic backing. Israel is the US' largest recipient of foreign aid, having received over $310 billion in both military and economic assistance.
There have been documented reports that Israel violated Palestinians' rights using US-made weapons. Israel has killed over 44,800 Palestinians, mostly women and children, in its carnage in besieged Gaza so far. Its onslaught caused a massive shortage of basic necessities, including food, water, electricity and medicine, while displacing almost the entire population of the blockaded enclave.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last month for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence chief Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on Gaza. SyndiGate editors manage to post the latest news from our contributors while monitoring the adherence to Al Bawaba guidelines, copy-editing, and image selection.
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