War on Gaza: Palestinian Americans snub Blinken briefing on Gaza as protesters camp outside residence
Several Palestinian Americans have refused to meet US Secretary of State Antony Blinken for a briefing on Gaza, as community outrage over the Biden administration's ongoing support for Israel shows no signs of tempering, Middle East Eye can reveal.
In a statement sent to MEE by a group of Palestinian Americans who had turned down an off-the-record briefing with Blinken on Thursday, the group described the meeting as “political maneuvering” and an attempt at “damage control” by the Biden administration, as Israel continues to wreak havoc in Gaza with the full support of Washington.
At least five Palestinians snubbed the meeting held by Blinken, while at least two others have decided to go ahead with the meeting despite attempts to dissuade them, sources familiar with the matter told MEE.
“We do not know what more Secretary Blinken or President Biden need to hear or see to compel them to end their complicity in this genocide. They show us every day whose lives they value and whose lives they consider disposable," the group said.
MEE cannot independently verify how many Palestinian Americans were invited.
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One invitee, Tariq el-Haddad, who initially had accepted the invite to meet with Blinken, changed his mind after closely contemplating if there would be a purpose to the meeting.
In a letter addressed to Blinken to explain his decision to not attend the meeting, Haddad said he could not in good conscience meet with Blinken, knowing he would be meeting with an official who was part of an administration directly responsible for the deaths of over 80 of his family members, including dozens of children, among other ongoing tragedies in Gaza.
"How do I say in three minutes to someone who will forever in history be known for actively aiding and abetting one of the worst genocides in a century, what that person’s actions have done to my family’s suffering and that of my people?
"The more I thought about this meeting, the more I could not emotionally bring myself to look you in the eyes, Secretary Blinken, knowing you and President Biden have knowingly contributed to the suffering and murder of so many of my family, the homelessness and dispossession of 2 million Gazans, and the famine that has befallen my remaining family members," Haddad wrote in his letter shared with MEE.
Haddad said that he could not fathom communicating the hardships of the people in Gaza in the allotted time of three minutes with Blinken.
"How do I say in three minutes to someone who will forever in history be known for actively aiding and abetting one of the worst genocides in a century, what that person’s actions have done to my family’s suffering and that of my people?
"How do I look a person in the eyes for three minutes who not only could have prevented the death of my 85 family members and the nearly 15,000 children in Gaza who have been killed, but actively contributed to their suffering and death by providing military ammunitions from our US military supply to kill my family and destroy their homes?
"How do I look you in the eyes knowing you couldn’t even do the basic minimum like calling for a ceasefire to end the suffering and carnage, and even worse, are cutting off humanitarian assistance to 2 million people going through a famine of historic proportions?" Haddad wrote.
The State Department did not immediately respond to MEE's request for comment.
'Occupy Blinken'
On Thursday, ahead of the scheduled meeting, several activists, as well as former State Department official Josh Paul, held a press briefing outside Blinken's home in Virginia.
For the past six days, a group called "Occupy Blinken" have been camping outside his residence in protest against what they describe as Blinken's “utter failure” over the situation in Gaza.
In a statement released by Occupy Blinken, the group said they had set up the protest camp on 26 January, the day the order was made in the case of South Africa vs Israel for the crime of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
On the same day, a federal court in Oakland heard arguments in a case where a group of Palestinian individuals and rights groups accused the Biden administration, namely President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin, of collectively failing in their legal responsibility to prevent - and being complicit in - Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.
Oakland court dismisses case
On 31 January, the federal court dismissed the case on jurisdictional grounds. However, the judge called on the Biden administration to stop its “unflagging support” for Israel’s ongoing siege of the Palestinian people in Gaza.
The judge also said it was plausible that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians.
'The court affirmed ... that the United States’ unflagging support for Israel is enabling the killing of tens of thousands of Palestinians'
- Katherine Gallagher, attorney
“The court affirmed that what the Palestinian population in Gaza is enduring is a campaign to eradicate a whole people – genocide – and that the United States’ unflagging support for Israel is enabling the killing of tens of thousands of Palestinians and the famine facing millions," Katherine Gallagher, a senior staff attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights, said in a statement.
"While we strongly disagree with the court’s ultimate jurisdictional ruling, we urge the Biden administration to heed the judge’s call to examine and end its deadly course of action.
"Together with our plaintiffs, we will pursue all legal avenues to stop the genocide and save Palestinian lives," Gallagher added.
In addition to the ongoing protest outside Blinken's residence, pro-Palestinian activists mobilised on Thursday morning to launch a mass demonstration in Washington DC.
The protest blocked five major entrances into the city, as well as the entrance to Union Station - a major transport hub and train station - and also blocked an entrance to the US State Department.
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