Watch: US State Dept spokesperson stumbles as reporters grill him on Palestine issue
By
Tuesday May 11, 2021
US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price answers reporters questions during the weekly press briefing. Photo: US State Department video screengrab
Reporters, journalists grill US State Department spokesperson to condemn killing of innocent Palestinian children.
State Dept spokesperson Ned Price says Israel has right to self-defence. But the Israelis killed 13 people just now, including maybe five or six children, says one reporter.
US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price was visibly uncomfortable when he was asked to condemn the killing of defenceless Palestinian children during a press briefing on Tuesday.
Updated: May 11 2021, 15:18 ET
CONGRESSWOMAN Ilhan Omar has slammed Israel’s airstrikes on the Gaza strip as “terrorism” as her fellow Squad member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also offers her support for Palestinians.
Omar commented on Monday after the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza reported that nine children were among 20 killed by Israeli airstrikes.
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One victim was younger than ten while another 65 people were injured.
“Israeli airstrikes killing civilians in Gaza is an act of terrorism,” Omar tweeted in response to the news.
“Palestinians deserve protection. Unlike Israel, missile defense programs, such as Iron Dome, don’t exist to protect Palestinian civilians.
“It’s unconscionable to not condemn these attacks on the week of Eid,” she added, referencing the Muslim holy week.
WORLD / MID-EAST
22 killed as Israel strikes Gaza
By AFP Published: May 11, 2021 07:23 PM The United Nations rights office said on Tuesday it was deeply concerned at the escalation of violence in the occupied Palestinian territories, east Jerusalem and Israel.
A woman reacts as wounded Palestinians are being brought to Indonesian Hospital to receive medical treatment after Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, on May 10 in Beit Lahia, Gaza. Photo: VCG We condemn all violence and all incitement to violence and ethnic division and provocations, spokesperson Rupert Colville told reporters in Geneva. He said Israeli security forces must allow the freedom of expression, association and assembly.
Watch: US State Dept spokesperson faces tough questions after defending Israeli air strikes
World
Tue, May 11, 2021
US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price on Tuesday faced a barrage of tough questions after he defended Israel s air strikes in Gaza that killed more than 20 Palestinians.
The air strikes, as per reports, killed nine Palestinian children as well.
Price was reacting to the recent escalation in tensions in the Middle East, during his weekly press briefing, following the killing of at least 20 Palestinians as Israel conducted air strikes.
Israel said it had conducted the strikes in response to rockets fired allegedly by Hamas and other groups in Israeli territory.
Monday, 10 May, 2021 - 18:00
Rockets are fired from Gaza City towards Israel on May 10, 2021. (AFP) Asharq Al-Awsat
Israel s army launched air strikes on Gaza Monday in response to rockets fired by the Islamist movement Hamas amid spiraling violence sparked by unrest at Jerusalem s Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
Adding to the sense of chaos, a huge fire engulfed trees in the compound that houses the mosque, Islam s third holiest site, and the Temple Mount sacred to Jews.
At least nine people were killed in Gaza among them a senior Hamas commander local authorities said. But it was not immediately clear whether they all died in Israeli strikes or from a misfired Hamas rocket.