Joe Biden’s State Department has denied a report that an official accused the IDF of “systematically” raping Palestinian women during their war in Gaza.
The report came two days ago in the Jerusalem Post and it mentioned IDF Brig.-Gen. (res.) Amir Avivi by name, who is the one making the claim:
IDF Brig.-Gen. (res.) Amir Avivi met with the holder of the Israeli-Palestinian portfolio at the US State Department, who accused Israel of “systematically” sexually abusing Palestinian woman, the general explained in an interview on 103FM.
Recounting his meeting, he explained, “It was a meeting that shook me. We sat there, talked about the situation, and suddenly she accused Israel of systematically sexually abusing Palestinian women.”
Avivi described his reaction.
“This is absolutely disconnected from reality. But without hesitation, she said, ‘The UN presented evidence to the Israeli government.’ I told her, ‘Does it make sense that this phenomenon would exist and the media would never have reported on it?’ I wanted there to be greater awareness… about what is really happening in the US State Department. In the end, I left there with the feeling that they simply don’t talk to us and don’t pass on any information.”
Free Beacon reports the State Department claims that never happened, but that they do raise what they call ‘credible allegations’ of abuse:
The State Department is denying a recent report that claimed a top U.S. official accused the Jewish state of “systematically” sexually abusing Palestinian women, but told the Washington Free Beacon that it has raised concerns with Israel over “credible allegations” of abuse committed by its forces.
The State Department in comments to the Free Beacon described as “inaccurate” a recent Israeli report claiming a top U.S. diplomat working on the “Israeli-Palestinian portfolio” accused the country of committing sexual assaults on Palestinian detainees.
“It was a meeting that shook me,” Israel Defense Forces Brig.-Gen. (res.) Amir Avivi recounted after the meeting. “We sat there, talked about the situation, and suddenly she accused Israel of systematically sexually abusing Palestinian women.”
The State Department said the report on the meeting was inaccurate, but U.S. diplomats have nonetheless raised the issue more broadly in their meetings with Israel.
“What has been said throughout our meetings with Israeli leadership is consistent with what we’ve been saying publicly: Israel must thoroughly and transparently investigate credible allegations of wrongdoing and ensure accountability for any abuses or violations,” a State Department spokesman said.
“We take seriously all reports of sexual violence, including reports of sexual violence against Palestinians in detention—as we said after the recent release of U.N. Special Envoy Representative [Pramila] Patten’s report on this subject,” the spokesman added, citing a recent United Nations investigation into claims of abuse in the wake of Oct. 7.
The State Department’s comments come just days after Al Jazeera deleted a story falsely claiming that Israeli soldiers raped Palestinian women during a recent assault on the Al-Shifa hospital in the Gaza Strip, which has been converted into a Hamas command center.
The claims were based on information from Hamas militants and ultimately proved to be false, according to Al Jazeera columnist Yasser Abuhilalah, who tweeted about the controversy earlier this week.
“It was revealed through Hamas investigations that the story of the rape of women in Al-Shifa Hospital was fabricated,” Abuhilalah wrote, according to the Jerusalem Post. “The woman who spoke about rape justified her exaggeration and incorrect talk by saying that the goal was to arouse the nation’s fervor and brotherhood.”
Three sources familiar with the matter identified the U.S. official cited in reports as Jill Hutchings, a career foreign service officer and director of the State Department’s Office of Israeli and Palestinian affairs, which is overseen by assistant deputy secretary of state Andrew Miller. A State Department spokesman would not comment further on the matter when asked to confirm this information.
Experts who spoke to the Free Beacon said that Hamas routinely lies about alleged crimes by Israeli soldiers and that the U.S. government should be advocating against U.N. investigations that target Israel instead of Hamas.
I’d be willing to bet that it absolutely did happen and the State Department is just trying to save face. There’s undoubtedly a ton of Israel haters in Biden’s administration – we’ve seen them march against Biden over his early support of Israel’s defensive war – and the reporting seems credible to me.