TEHRAN - On Tuesday, as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stood before journalists at a press conference in Tel Aviv, he seemed to be out of touch with reality. 

With a solemn face, Blinken acknowledged the harrowing ordeals endured by Palestinians over the last three months, before proceeding to say that the “immense death toll” in the Gaza war is why the U.S. continues its untrammeled support for the regime.

Much of his rhetoric echoed previous sentiments expressed by U.S. officials, seemingly justifying Israel's actions as necessary for “self-defense” – legitimizing civilian casualties, destruction of infrastructure, and the collective suffering of Gaza's population.

However, his latest discourse unveiled some of the most startling claims to date, leaving activist groups and concerned individuals in disbelief. 

“As an American, Blinken makes me simultaneously ashamed, disgusted, embarrassed, and angry,” lamented a U.S. citizen on X, formerly known as Twitter. But what exactly had the diplomat said to stir such impassioned reactions?

Blinken blames Israeli massacre on Palestinians

When the high number of Palestinian casualties - over 23,000 civilian deaths so far - were brought to Blinken's attention, the official proceeded to blame Hamas, for the American bombs Israel has relentlessly been dropping on the 2.3 million population of Gaza. 

“Hamas could have ended this on October 8th by not hiding behind civilians, by putting down its weapons, by surrendering, and by releasing the hostages. None of the suffering — none of the suffering — would have happened if Hamas hadn’t done — did what it did on October 7th and had made different decisions thereafter. So, it’s very important to keep that in perspective, and again, this could end tomorrow if Hamas makes those decisions,” he said with a straight face after claiming that Hamas fighters embed themselves among civilians and hide in schools and hospitals.

Blinken purposefully omitted a crucial historical fact— the strife between Palestinians and Zionists did not ignite on October 7, 2023, but rather in 1948, when Israelis instigated widespread killings and coerced the displacement of Palestinians from their ancestral lands.

He failed to acknowledge that the October 7th operation by the Hamas Resistance Group was, in essence, a response to 75 years of oppression under a regime that numerous international bodies, including the United Nations, have labeled as apartheid.

Hamas reacted strongly to Blinken’s remarks, saying they reflect the “depth of American complicity” in Israeli crimes against Palestinians in the past months. 

“We consider Secretary Blinken's attempts to justify the genocide committed by the terrorist occupation army against Palestinian civilians, by claiming that the Palestinian resistance is concentrated among civilians, to be desperate attempts to wash the hands of the criminal occupation from the blood of the children, women, and elderly of Gaza,” the group's statement noted. 

Israel has been claiming that Hamas controls the war from civilian sites or tunnels it has created beneath them. But after raiding and destroying several hospitals, schools, churches, and mosques, the regime has failed to prove the validity of those accusations. 

Blinken on the wheel of contradiction

Contradictions were also strikingly apparent in Blinken's remarks. He dismissed South Africa's 84-page lawsuit accusing Israel of genocide as "meritless" and a distraction from ongoing humanitarian efforts, without specifying which part of the suit he found to be without merit. However, moments later, he referenced a United Nations warning that 90% of people in Gaza are dangerously food insecure which is one of the points South Africa brings up in its suit against Israel. 

Blinken asserted that Arab states are prepared to play a role in the future of Gaza, with the understanding that an independent Palestinian state would be allowed to form. Yet, when questioned about whether Israeli leaders would permit the formation of such a state, he indicated that he couldn't speak for Benjamin Netanyahu, suggesting the Israeli prime minister may not be willing to halt his expansionist policies and allow the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. 

The group of protesters who greeted Blinken at his next stop, the West Bank city of Ramallah, seemed to demonstrate that Palestinians have noticed the American official is willing to lie for Israel no matter how many men, women, and children lose their homes, limbs, and lives. 

Blinken’s last three trips to West Asia failed to make any of the U.S.’s wishes come true. It seems that with the sheer cluelessness and helplessness of the diplomat, his latest visit to the region is also doomed to fail.