Secretary of State Antony Blinken‘s final press conference shortly devolved into chaos Thursday after reporters had to be forcibly removed from the event, including one, an activist, who was physically carried out.
The men were upset that a ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel had not been reached sooner, accusing Blinken of “genocide” and being a “criminal.”
Writer and activist Sam Husseini had to be dragged out of the event by security. Another reporter, Grayzone News’ Max Blumenthal, left more peacefully, but still had to be escorted out after shouting questions at Blinken about why he kept “the bombs flowing when we had a deal in May?”
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“You pontificate about a free press?” Husseini erupted. “I’m asking questions after being told by Matt Miller that he will not answer my questions, and so I ask them. Wasn’t – wasn’t the point of the May 31st statement to block the ICJ orders? You blocked the ICJ orders!”
Blumenthal questioned Blinken on why he allowed “the Holocaust of our time” as he was escorted out, but that didn’t stop the uproar. Blinken kept trying to get back on course amid the interruption, at one point asking people to “respect the process,” but Husseini refused.
“Oh, respect the process?” Husseini yelled as he was being carried away. “Respect the process while everybody – everybody from the International – from Amnesty International to the ICJ’s saying that Israel’s doing genocide and extermination, and you’re telling me to respect the process. Criminal! Why aren’t you in The Hague?”
Three security guards ultimately had to grab Husseini in an attempt to remove him from the room. Husseini shouted as he clasped the table he was sitting at while he continued shouting at Blinken: “You are hurting me. You are hurting me!”
The United States, Egypt, Qatar, Israel and Hamas agreed this week to a ceasefire deal – the basis of which was proposed by President Joe Biden in May. Israel still has to fully ratify the agreement, but it is a three-phase process that is expected to potentially commence as early as Sunday. The deal marks the first reprieve in fighting since a short truce took place in November 2023, but fighting resumed several days later with both sides arguing violations of the agreed upon deal.
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“Three hundred reporters in Gaza were on the receiving end of your bombs. Why did you keep the bombs flowing when we had a deal?” Blumenthal shouted at Blinken, after the Secretary of State thanked members for their “hard questions” during the past four years of his tenure. “You all knew we had a deal. Everyone in this room knows we had a deal, Tony, and you kept the bombs flowing.”
A spokesperson for the State Department told Fox News Digital that it is committed to advancing press freedom and values the opportunity to regularly communicate with members of the press. But, the agency spokesperson said the State Department also follows agency norms, which posit that anyone attending department press briefings must act in a professional manner, observe restrictions that may be laid out in advance and not impede other speakers.
Blinken defended the Biden administration’s policy approach to the fighting in Gaza during his final press conference as Secretary of State on Thursday. He did acknowledge that the war in Gaza posed a “uniquely challenging situation” due to the humanitarian issues Palestinians faced after Hamas launched their attack on Oct. 7, 2023. He also acknowledged that the U.S. had “real differences with Israel on the way it’s gone about the necessary defense of its people and its country.”
But, according to President Joe Biden’s National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, the Biden administration does “not believe what is happening in Gaza is a genocide,” he said earlier this year.
The deal reached this week hit a quick snag when Hamas sought to push last-minute demands into the deal. Additionally, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has faced pressure from far-right politicians not to go through with the deal. Still, on Friday morning, Netanyahu said that, pending approval by Israel’s security cabinet and government, the proposed ceasefire and hostage deal was still on and expected to commence Sunday.
