Blinken claims State Dept has no double standard favoring Israel

Another shameless moment for Blinken, even as he reveals a long list of Israeli human rights abuses; over 300 Gazan bodies discovered in mass graves; Israel prepping for invasion of Rafah; having a baby in Gaza; final report on UNRWA says Israel never offered evidence of wrongdoing; West Bank death; follow the Freedom Flotilla; flurry of actions in solidarity with Palestine on US college campuses, more

Blinken denies US double standard over alleged Israeli rights abuses

Reuters reports: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday rejected suggestions that Washington might have a “double standard” when applying U.S. law to allegations of abuses by the Israeli military in Gaza and said that examinations of such charges are ongoing.

“Do we have a double standard? The answer is no,” Blinken told a news conference announcing the Department’s annual human rights country reports.

“In general, as we’re looking at human rights and the condition of human rights around the world, we apply the same standard to everyone. That doesn’t change whether the country is an adversary, a competitor, a friend or an ally,” he said.

Israel’s military conduct has come under increasing scrutiny as its forces have killed 34,000 Palestinians in besieged Gaza, according to the enclave’s health authorities, many of them civilians and children. The Gaza Strip has been reduced to a wasteland, and extreme food shortages have prompted fears of famine.

Excerpt from US’s annual country reports on human rights practices

On Israel, the report states: “Significant human rights issues included credible reports of:

- arbitrary or unlawful killings, including extrajudicial killings; enforced disappearance;
- torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by government officials;
- harsh and life-threatening prison conditions;
- arbitrary arrest or detention;
- political prisoners or detainees;
- arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy;
- punishment of family members for alleged offenses by a relative;
- serious abuses in a conflict by Hamas and Israel, including unlawful or widespread civilian deaths and harm, enforced disappearances or abductions, torture, physical abuses, and conflict-related sexual violence or punishment;
- serious restrictions on freedom of expression and media freedom, including violence or threats against journalists, unjustified arrests or prosecution of journalists, and censorship;
- substantial interference with the freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of association;
- restrictions on freedom of movement and residence;
- serious government restrictions on or harassment of domestic and international human rights organizations;
- and crimes involving violence or threats of violence targeting members of national, racial, or ethnic minority groups.”

According to the report, “The government [of Israel] took some credible steps to identify and punish officials who may have committed human rights abuses.”

(Read the executive summary on the West Bank and Gaza here.)

NOTE: Israel has proven itself unwilling and unable to self-investigate in any meaningful way, and its court system is highly discriminatory.

NOTE: Despite the many human rights abuses, the Biden administration said it has not found Israel in breach of international law so far.

Palestinian children sit next to the site of an Israeli strike on a house in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, April 21, 2024

4th day of digging up mass graves at Nasser Hospital, body count at 310

WAFA reports: On Tuesday, Palestinian civil defense and ambulance crews uncovered three mass graves, with 35 bodies found at the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis city in the southern Gaza Strip, bringing the total number of civilians whose bodies have been found so far to 310 persons.

Middle East Monitor adds, “For the fourth day, government crews continue to extract the bodies of victims from mass graves in the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis,” said Government Media Office head, Salama Maarouf.

Some 42 of the latest victims had been identified while the rest remain unidentified, noting that the Israeli army deliberately hid them by burying them deep in sand and dumping waste on them.

“The fate of about 2,000 Palestinians who were inside the Nasser Medical Complex when the Israeli occupation army stormed it is still unknown, and it is not known whether they were arrested or killed and their bodies were hidden,” Maarouf said.

He added, “The bodies of women, children, elderly people and wounded people were also found in the mass grave, while some of them were handcuffed and stripped of their clothes, indicating that they had been executed in cold blood.”

Palestinians check the damage at a makeshift camp for displaced people in front of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah, Gaza — Palestinians check the damage at a makeshift camp for displaced people in front of the Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir el-Balah, Gaza

Israel expanding so-called ‘safe zone’ in Gaza as it prepares to invade Rafah

The New Arab reports: Israel will significantly expand a so-called “humanitarian zone” in the Gaza Strip that will hold around one million displaced people, as it prepares to invade Rafah, Israel’s Reshet Bet radio station said.

The area will be much larger than the one in Al-Mawasi area in the south of the enclave and will run along the coast, reaching the outskirts of Nuseirat in central Gaza and accommodating a million Palestinians, the radio station said.

According to the report, five field hospitals have been established in the area.

On April 18, American network ABC News quoted an Israeli source that said Israel had made “significant progress” in preparing to evacuate about a million civilians from Rafah before a ground attack on the city.

World leaders – including some of Israel’s closest allies – and rights organizations have told Israel to call off the invasion of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians who fled other parts of Gaza are sheltering.

The UN in February warned Israel that a Rafah invasion “could lead to slaughter.”

NOTE: Israel has bombed designated “safe zones” since the beginning of the war.

April 22, 2024: As Israeli attacks continue on Gaza, Palestinians who left their homes and took refuge in Rafah try to survive under harsh conditions in makeshift tents they set up in the empty land.

Israel’s attack takes a terrible toll on expectant mothers

OCHA reports: Following a ten-day mission to Gaza, Dominic Allen, spokesperson for the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) stated that an estimated 180 women are giving birth every day in Gaza in “inhumane, unimaginable conditions.”

Only three of the 11 hospitals that are still partially functioning across Gaza provide maternal care.

The spokesperson described seeing cables of ultrasound machines cut and screens of complex medical equipment smashed at Nasser Hospital.

He also reported seeing – amid the many challenges in bringing health care items into Gaza – flashlights removed from midwifery kits, and an oxygen machine removed from a prefabricated maternity unit.

Sabreen Jouda lies in an incubator in the al-Helal hospital in Rafah, southern Gaza

Independent review panel releases final report on UNRWA

From the United Nations: An independent panel released its much-awaited report on Monday about the UN relief agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA), providing 50 recommendations and noting that Israeli authorities have yet to provide proof of their claims that UN staff are involved with terrorist organizations.

(Read the summary here, a backgrounder here, and the full 54-page report here.)

Israel rejects UNRWA review

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein has said the review of UNRWA headed by former French foreign minister Catherine Colonna was insufficient and an “effort to avoid the problem and not address it head on”.

He added, “Israel calls on the donor countries to refrain from transferring their taxpayers’ money to UNRWA-Gaza.”

Marmorstein accused more than 2,135 UNRWA workers of being members of Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

But according to the Colonna report, Israel has still not provided any evidence for its allegations.

He did not comment on Israel’s failure to provide evidence to back up its allegations.

Children jostle to receive food in Rafah, Gaza

Israel’s claims against UNRWA employees were ‘political’ and ‘cruel’: Analyst

Al Jazeera reports: Jeffrey Sachs, an economist and professor at Columbia University, says Israel’s claims that UNRWA employees were involved in the October 7 Hamas attacks “were political” and “cruel”.

The allegations, he said, “elicited an immediate response from 16 donors … that immediately cut off funding” to the agency without waiting for evidence.

“This was politics at play, this was not substantive,” he said, adding that donors should “stop this financial boycott” of the agency.

“It’s reprehensible at a time when the people of Gaza are in such urgent need.”

Sachs noted that UNRWA has been “under politicized attacks” for a long time, and has taken “detailed” measures to demonstrate its neutrality.

We were correct in continuing our support for @UNRWA.

The @UN report by @MinColonna, positively assesses the organization’s neutrality and reinforces our decision. (1/2)https://t.co/b5l0ifLi0p pic.twitter.com/cGS6w4mRNp

— Hadja Lahbib (@hadjalahbib) April 22, 2024

Follow the Freedom Flotilla

As IAK recently reported: Last Friday, hundreds of civilians from dozens of countries met in Istanbul to prepare to sail very soon for Gaza, carrying thousands of tons of life-saving food and medicine. The Freedom Flotilla aims to break Israel’s unlawful siege of Gaza and demand an immediate ceasefire to save the lives of thousands of Palestinians.

There will be participants from over 30 countries on board, including 40 Americans.

Participants are going through three days of non-violence training.

The Flotilla will depart shortly, carrying over 5,000 tons of humanitarian aid on a cargo ship, accompanied by two passenger ships.

Huwaida Arraf, a human rights attorney and Freedom Flotilla organizer says: “Israel’s current siege on Gaza, as well as its 17-year-long blockade are forms of collective punishment, which is a war crime. As the siege and blockade are illegal, Israel has no right to attack or stop our ships. We call on our governments, which have thus far done nothing to protect the Palestinian people or compel Israel to abide by international law, to start living up to their obligations and demand our flotilla have safe passage to Gaza. We ask people around the world to join us in this call.”

Middle East Eye adds: This initiative evokes memories of the Mavi Marmara incident in 2010 when an attempt to break the Israeli siege on Gaza resulted in the deaths of ten people after the Israeli army raided the ship in international waters.

Another ship is expected to join from Italy. Approximately 1,000 people will participate in the voyage, accompanied by 100 journalists with internet and satellite connections.

Israeli officials have expressed hope that the attempt will be indefinitely postponed.

NOTE: We will bring regular updates about the 2024 Freedom Flotilla until it arrives in Gaza.

NOTE: Read about the individuals who launched the flotilla movement over 16 years ago here.

A ship from the Freedom Flotilla Coalition anchors at Tuzla seaport in Istanbul, Turkey, on Friday, April 19, 2024

West Bank: Israeli forces kill Palestinian father of three in Jericho

WAFA reports: A Palestinian man has been shot dead by the Israeli occupation forces in the occupied West Bank city of Jericho, according to the director of Jericho Governmental Hospital.

He said that Shadi Issa Galaita, 44, a father of three children, was killed by Israeli gunfire during a military raid.

WAFA correspondent said that the slain Palestinian is the brother of prisoner Fadi Galaita, 46, who last Wednesday entered his 24th year behind Israeli bars, noting that he was sentenced to 25 years in prison, and that his father died while he was in occupation jails.

As an Israeli soldier stands by, an Israeli settler confronts a Palestinian protester during a demonstration against settlement expansion in the village of al-Mughayer in the occupied West Bank, on 29 July, 2022

Harvard Suspends Palestine Solidarity Committee Amid Wave of Protests on College Campuses

Middle East Eye reports: Student encampments demanding divestment from companies involved in Israel’s occupation of Palestinian land and “genocide” in Gaza have popped up at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); Tufts and Emerson in Boston; New York University and The New School in New York City; Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tennessee; Yale University in Connecticut; University of California-Berkeley; The University of Michigan; Washington University in St Louis; and The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Harvard Crimson reports: Harvard College suspended the Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee (PSC) and ordered the group to “cease all organizational activities for the remainder of the Spring 2024 term” or risk permanent expulsion, according to an email obtained by The Crimson.

The suspension comes amid a wave of pro-Palestine student demonstrations across the country, with students staging occupations at universities including Columbia and Yale Universities.

The PSC released a statement Monday afternoon: which stated that the organization’s suspension comes after “months of administrative repression, harassment and stalking by our own peers, and intimidation from right-wing politicians and donors.”

“After standing idly by as pro-Palestine students faced physical and cyber harassment, death threats and rape threats, and racist doxxing, Harvard has now decided to dismantle the only official student group dedicated to the task of representing the Palestinian cause,” the statement reads.

“We call on the Harvard community to fight against repression and join the movement for Palestinian liberation,” the post continued. “History is watching you.”

‼️‼️BREAKING: Harvard PSC has been SUSPENDED. Despite admin’s attempts to silence students speaking out against the atrocities committed in Palestine, they will never suspend the movement. pic.twitter.com/JmfVsrxPiO

— Harvard for Palestine (@HarvardPSC) April 22, 2024

The more than 300 protesters continue to block the intersection. There were more than 40 officers on the scene; they have now almost all entered the Schwarzman Center rotunda and are not allowing students inside. pic.twitter.com/DcS22fqqrs

— Yale Daily News (@yaledailynews) April 22, 2024

Happening now: Columbia and Barnard Faculty stand in support of our students @Columbia @BarnardCollege pic.twitter.com/aTaxLgy2gM

— Hiba Bou Akar (@hibabouakar) April 22, 2024

Memorable quotes

Al Jazeera: The ICC can no longer ignore the genocide in Gaza

Mondoweiss: Netanyahu exploits Passover for more biblical genocide propaganda

Middle East Eye: Settler terrorism: Palestinians are becoming prisoners in their own homeland

The New Arab: The four-country push in Europe to recognize Palestine as a state

IMEMC News Reports

What do Israel, Google and Amazon have in common? A $1.2 billion cloud computing contract that some employees want to shut down.

Al Jazeera's @MissSamJohnson explores in Digital Dilemma ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/EJw9r7Zljy

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) March 26, 2024

STATISTICS OCTOBER 7 – APRIL 22:

Palestinian death toll from October 7 – April 22: at least 35,143* (34,647 in Gaza* (at least 14,560 children, 9,582 women), and at least 496 in the West Bank (117 children). This does not include an estimated 7,000 more still buried under rubble (4,900 women and children). Euro-Med Monitor reports 40,042 Palestinian deaths.

At least 42 Palestinians have died in Israeli prisons (27 from Gaza, 14 from West Bank)

At least 31 Palestinian children and several adults have died due to malnutrition**

About 1.7 million, or 75% of Gaza’s population are currently displaced.

About 1.1 million (out of total population of 2.3 million) are facing Catastrophic levels of food insecurity.

Palestinian injuries from October 7 – April 22: at least 81,664 (including at least 76,833 in Gaza and 5,000 in the West Bank).

It remains unknown how many Americans are among the casualties in Gaza.

Reported Israeli death toll from October 7 – April 22: ~1,407 (~1,139 on October 7, 2023, of which ~32 were Americans, and ~36 were children); 259 military forces since the ground invasion began in Gaza;, 16 in the West Bank) and~8,730 injured.

Times of Israel reports: The IDF also listed 41 soldiers killed due to friendly fire in Gaza and other military-related accidents – nearly 16%.

NOTE: It is unknown at this time how many of the deaths and injuries in Israel on October 7 were caused by Israeli soldiers.

*Previously, IAK did not include 471 Gazans killed in the Al Ahli hospital blast since the source of the projectile was being disputed. However, given that much evidence points to Israel as the culprit, Israel had previously bombed the hospital and has attacked many others, Israel is prohibiting outside experts from investigating the scene, and since the UN and other agencies are including the deaths from the attack in their cumulative totals, if Americans knew is now also doing so.

**Euro-Med Monitor reports that Gaza’s elderly are dying at an alarmingly high rate. The majority die at home and are buried either close to their residences or in makeshift graves dispersed across the Strip. There are currently more than 140 such cemeteries. Additionally, according to Euromed, thousands have died from starvation, malnourishment, and inadequate medical care; these are considered indirect victims as they were not registered in hospitals.

Find previous daily casualty figures and daily news updates here.

For more news, go here and here. Broadcast news from the region is here.

Hover over each bar for exact numbers.
Source: IsraelPalestineTimeline.org