US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s final days in office have not been the best, with the last 48 hours being particularly adverse for the top diplomat, who faced criticism over controversial decisions he took during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. It is falling.
Far from the farewell he might have hoped for, Antony Blinken’s last press conference as Secretary of State turned out to be a nightmarish experience as he found himself on the receiving end of a verbal thrashing by two journalists covering the Gaza war. Found.
Independent journalist Sam Husseini confronted Mr Blinken as he defended the Biden administration’s decisions and policies during the 15-month war in Gaza, which has sparked chaos. “Everyone from Amnesty International to the ICJ (International Court of Justice) is saying that Israel is committing genocide and extermination, and you are asking me to respect this process?” Mr. Hussaini asked the question.
Moments later, as he sat quietly after the verbal confrontation, security personnel came to the journalists’ desk and began to forcefully lift him up.
reporter @samhusaini Was just physically dragged from Blinken’s briefing. “Why aren’t you in The Hague?” he asked. pic.twitter.com/Nvs10aFjgh
– Ryan Grim (@ryangrim) 16 January 2025
“Stop assaulting me,” the journalist urged, but it fell on deaf ears. The security personnel, now surrounded by him, picked him up and began to drag him out, while others watched in shock. Just before being physically escorted out of the room, the journalist shouted in agony at Mr. Blinken, “Criminal! Why aren’t you in The Hague!” Referring to the International Criminal Court which sentenced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in November last year.
An uncomfortable silence descended on the conference room. Mr Blinken, undeterred by what had just happened, continued to defend United States policy in Gaza and support Israel’s Netanyahu, though, he stressed, “with differences” on a number of matters.
As he was about to continue his briefing, another journalist – Max Blumenthal, Grayzone’s news editor, interrupted him in a harsh, accusatory tone. “Why did you keep dropping bombs when we had a deal in May?” He asked a series of questions shortly afterwards, accusing Mr Blinken of being a “Zionist”.
“Why did you abandon the rules-based order based on your commitment to Zionism? Why did you allow genocide of my friends? Why did you do this” he shouted.
My final words to Genocide Secretary Tony Blinken and his smiling press secretary Matt Miller pic.twitter.com/DuLnepSwDl
– Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal) 16 January 2025
“Your father-in-law was an Israeli lobbyist, your grandfather was an Israeli lobbyist – have you compromised with Israel? Why did you allow the genocide of our time to happen? How does it feel to have the genocide of your heritage happen? You smiled during the whole thing” When Foreign When the department officials took the journalist out of the conference room, he continued speaking in a condemnatory tone.
Pushed by a protestor
Just a day earlier, Secretary Blinken was surrounded by a pro-Palestine protestor during a farewell address to the public. Blaming him for the “genocide” in Gaza, the female protester said, “You will always be known as bloody Blinken, Genocide Secretary. The blood of innocent civilians, children, is on your hands.”
Video that has gone viral on social media shows Mr Blinken remaining calm during the insulting remarks. He also requested the protester to allow him to respond to those comments, and told them that he respected their views. But as he continued shouting, security intervened and removed him from the venue. After this he continued his speech.
On the bus: ?? US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was surrounded by protesters and started shouting at him.
“You will always be known as Secretary Bloody Blinken of Genocide.”
“We will never forget” – screams a woman who is definitely not a dead Arab. pic.twitter.com/yrCg9C9Obd
– Dr. Tariq Tramboo (@tariqtramboo) 14 January 2025
Both of these occasions – the farewell speech and the last press conference – came shortly after the announcement of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, ending a 15-month war that has completely devastated the Palestinian territory of Gaza. The war, which began after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing more than 1,200 civilians and taking about 250 hostages, has left more than 46,000 Palestinians dead and more than 2.3 million others homeless. and displaced in Gaza.
While Hamas’s “terrorist” attack has been condemned worldwide, Israel’s highly disproportionate military response has been widely called “genocide”, although Israel rejects these accusations. The International Criminal Court has also sentenced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for “war crimes” and called for his arrest. The US and Israel have rejected the order, with the Israeli Prime Minister defending its actions in the war, calling it “defense of the Jewish homeland”.