U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib had harsh words for Secretary of State Antony Blinken as he attempted to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions while enabling what many experts consider to be Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
“The United States reaffirms our steadfast commitment to respecting international humanitarian law and mitigating suffering in armed conflict,” Blinken wrote on social media Monday. “We call on others to do the same.”
Tlaib responded early Tuesday, “Is this a joke?”
Is this a joke?* https://t.co/WEAuCurNtD
— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) August 13, 2024
“You supported sending more U.S.-made bombs being used to commit war crimes,” Tlaib continued. “The government of Israel bombed hospitals, schools, and tents full of displaced Palestinians. How can you say you are for respecting international human rights laws?”
Tlaib also shared a link to an Amnesty International USA report from April finding that U.S. weapons sent to Israel had been used in violation of both international and U.S. law and calling for an “immediate suspension” of weapons transfers to the country.
The U.S. is Israel’s leading arms supplier, providing it with 69% of its weapons imports between 2019 and 2023. This has continued in the wake of Israel’s war on Gaza, which began on October 7, 2023 in response to Hamas’ deadly attack on southern Israel.
The Geneva Conventions of 1949 enshrine protections for vulnerable populations during armed conflict, including wounded soldiers and first responders, prisoners of war, and civilians. They include prohibitions on torture and the targeting of hospitals, and mandate that occupying powers provide food and medical supplies to civilian populations. Despite this, Israel has made it so difficult to get supplies into Gaza that famine has spread across the territory. Reports emerged last week that Palestinians in Israeli custody were subjected to systematic abuse, including rape. And Israel has routinely used U.S. weapons to target civilian areas and infrastructure in Gaza.
Days before Blinken’s remarks commemorating the conventions, the Biden administration approved $3.5 billion in new military funds to Israel, as well as new weapons shipments. Hours later, Israel reportedly used U.S.-made weapons to target the al-Tabin school in Gaza, killing around 100 people, including at least 11 children.
“Few people have done more to make the Geneva Conventions a dead letter,” author Hari Kunzru wrote in response to Blinken’s 75th anniversary commemoration message.
Beyond Gaza, the U.S. under President Joe Biden has also refused to state whether or not the Fourth Geneva Convention protecting civilians in armed conflict and occupied territories applies to Israeli treatment of Palestinians in the West Bank. In particular, it has not acknowledged that the convention would prohibit Israeli settlements in the territory altogether.
Tlaib and Kunzru were not the only people to criticize Blinken for his statement.
“Irony is dead,” wrote human rights lawyer Mai El-Sadany. “If the U.S. cared anything for the Geneva Conventions, it would not be choosing active complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity every day for the last 10 months.”
Rutgers Law professor Adil Haque observed, “The rest of the world has spent the last 10 months defending international humanitarian law from us.”
Qasim Rashid, also a human rights lawyer, said, “An actual commitment to respecting international humanitarian law would mean you stop funding [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu as he commits genocide of Palestinians.”
Institute for Middle East Understanding Policy Project policy director Josh Ruebner responded to a separate message that Blinken had posted on the State Department website.
“Nope, Secretary Blinken,” Ruebner wrote on social media. “You don’t get to praise the Geneva Conventions when you’re rushing weapons to Israel to enable it to violate almost every single clause in the convention as it continues to inflict genocidal violence against Palestinians in Gaza.”
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