WASHINGTON – The US State Department decries Israeli criticism of Secretary of State John Kerry as “offensive and absurd” while emphasizing that Kerry, and the United States, has given “unprecedented” support to Israel during its offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf lashes out during a press conference against “respected voices in Israel talking about the secretary of state, claiming that he supports Hamas, which is offensive and absurd.”
US State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf (screen capture: Youtube)
Harf argues that rather, Washington has granted Israel “a level of support which has been quite frankly unprecedented in our history” throughout the war in Gaza.
Kerry has been the focus of stinging criticism in both the Israeli and American press for his thus-far fruitless efforts to bring about a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas during the month-long escalation of violence in the region.
Harf singles out Israeli journalists for criticism, arguing that “that kind of criticism coming from any ally, certainly Israel, just really has no place in this discussion,” adding that the criticism was “so disappointing” given “the hours all of us have spent with the secretary in Jerusalem, trying to get Middle East peace, trying to protect Israel’s security.”
— Rebecca Stoil Shimoni
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Wednesday, July 30, 2014
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