White House: We do not believe genocide is occurring in Gaza
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Displaced Palestinians, who are sheltering in a school, preparing to flee Rafah.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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WASHINGTON – US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on May 13 that President Joe Biden’s administration did not view the killings of Palestinians in Gaza by Israel in its war with Hamas as a genocide.
Mr Sullivan said the US wants to see Hamas defeated.
He also said Palestinians caught in the middle of the war were in “hell”, and that a major military operation by Israel in Rafah would be a mistake.
“We do not believe what is happening in Gaza is a genocide. We have been firmly on record rejecting that proposition,” Mr Sullivan told reporters at the White House.
Mr Sullivan expressed concern about reports of Israeli settlers attacking a humanitarian aid convoy on its way to Erez crossing in northern Gaza, the second such incident in less than a week.
“It is a total outrage that there are people who are attacking and looting these convey,” Mr Sullivan said.
“It is completely and utterly unacceptable behaviour.”
Mr Biden, who is running for re-election in 2024,
More than 35,000 Palestinians in Gaza have died, according to Gaza health officials.
Mr Biden has sought to influence Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s approach to the war, Mr Sullivan said, but Israel is a sovereign, democratic nation that ultimately makes its own decisions.
“The Prime Minister doesn’t have to answer to us. He’s got to answer to the Israeli people,” Mr Sullivan said.
Reiterating a comment Mr Biden made on May 11, Mr Sullivan said there could be a ceasefire in Gaza now if Hamas would release hostages.
The world should be calling on Hamas to return to the negotiating table and accept a deal, Mr Sullivan said.
The US is working urgently for a ceasefire and hostage release deal, Mr Sullivan said. He said he could not predict when or if such a deal would be sealed. REUTERS
