US President Joe Biden makes brief remarks in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, DC, May 2, 2024. REUTERS/ Nathan Howard/ File photo
WASHINGTON - US President Joe Biden strongly defended Israel on Monday, saying Israeli forces are not committing genocide in their military campaign against Hamas militants in Gaza in a rejection of criticism from pro-Palestinian protesters.
"What's happening in Gaza is not genocide. We reject that," Biden said at a Jewish American Heritage Month event at the White House.
Biden has faced protests at many of his events around the country from pro-Palestinian advocates who have labeled him "Genocide Joe" for his steadfast support for Israel.
In remarks at the White House event, Biden stressed his belief that Israel was the victim dating back to the Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel by Hamas militants who killed 1,200 people and took hundreds of hostages.
He said US support for the safety and security of Israelis is "ironclad."
"We stand with Israel to take out (Hamas leader Yahya) Sinwar and the rest of the butchers of Hamas. We want Hamas defeated. We're working with Israel to make that happen," he said.
Negotiations have stalled between Israel and Hamas in trying to gain the freedom of sick, elderly and wounded hostages still held by the militants, but Biden vowed not to give up trying to gain their release.
"We're going to get them home, we're going to get 'em home, come hell or high water," Biden said.
Biden has also called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, something that he reiterated in his commencement speech at Morehouse College on Sunday
Biden also rejected the International Criminal Court's prosecutor for saying he had requested arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defense chief over alleged war crimes.
The ICC prosecutor on Monday also said he requested arrest warrants for Hamas chief Sinwar and two other Hamas leaders.
Biden in recent months has faced growing political pressure from his own party over his handling of the Gaza conflict, as the Palestinian death toll climbed to more than 35,000 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, and Israel's siege has created dire humanitarian conditions in the territory. —Reuters
Mysterious-Scholar1 on May 21st, 2024 at 13:43 UTC »
List of recognized genocides.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_genocides
Resident_Meat8696 on May 21st, 2024 at 11:45 UTC »
The definition is rather vague. Killing members of a group always has the intention to destroy in part a group, so even killing one person a group you don't like would be genocide. Note that this definition would also apply to the CCP, for forced sterilisations of both Chinese people and foreign people within the PRC, and Russia, kidnapping Ukraining children and shipping them to far away parts of the empire.
Article 6 Genocide For the purpose of this Statute, “genocide” means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: (a) Killing members of the group; (b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; (c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; (d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; (e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.
https://www.icc-cpi.int/sites/default/files/Publications/Rome-Statute.pdf
500CatsTypingStuff on May 21st, 2024 at 04:53 UTC »
I mean the number of civilian deaths is atrocious but is using terms like “genocide” helpful or hyperbole?