“In general, as we look at human rights and their situation around the world, we apply the same standard to everyone,” Blinken added during a press conference in which he revealed the State Department’s annual report on human rights.
He continued, “This does not change whether the country (in question) is an opponent, competitor, friend or ally.”
The report stated that the war between Israel and Hamas, which claimed the lives of tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza, had a “major negative impact” on the human rights situation in Israel.
Important human rights issues include credible reports of extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, torture, unjustified arrests of journalists and a number of other matters, according to the reports for 2023.
The report added that the Government of Israel has taken some credible steps to identify and punish officials who may have been involved in these violations.
Israeli military behavior is under increasing scrutiny after forces killed 34,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to health authorities in the Strip, many of them civilians and children. The Gaza Strip turned into a wasteland, and severe food shortages raised fears of famine.
Israel launched its military campaign in response to a Hamas attack on October 7, which Israel says killed 1,200 people.
Israel denies the accusations against it of intentionally causing human suffering in the Strip. It also denies deliberately targeting civilians, and accuses Hamas of using residential buildings to seek refuge in them, which the movement denies.
Human rights groups reported numerous incidents that harmed civilians during the attack launched by the Israeli army in Gaza, and also sounded the alarm about the escalation of violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Palestinian Ministry of Health records show that Israeli forces or settlers have killed at least 460 Palestinians in the West Bank since October 7, but the administration of US President Joe Biden still says that it has not concluded that Israel has violated international law.
Washington provides annual military aid worth $3.8 billion to its long-time ally Israel. Left-wing Democrats and Arab American groups criticize the Biden administration's steadfast support for Israel, which they say gives it a sense of impunity.
But this month, Biden for the first time threatened to impose conditions on support for Israel, and insisted on concrete steps to protect humanitarian aid workers and civilians.
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