Blinken heckled in final speech as he says he is ‘confident’ Gaza ceasefire will be implemented amid Israeli delay
by Josef Al Shemary · LBCBy Josef Al Shemary
US secretary of state Antony Blinken was called a ‘criminal’ during his final speech as he affirmed his ‘confidence’ that the Gaza ceasefire would be implemented on time.
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In his final speech as secretary of state before Trump’s administration takes over on January 20, Antony Blinken affirmed his confidence that the ceasefire deal would come into effect on Sunday after Israel delayed its vote on the deal.
But Blinken was repeatedly interrupted during his speech on Thursday, with one journalist calling him a criminal.
Independent journalist Sam Husseini asked “How does it feel for your legacy to be genocide?” before shouting “Criminal! You belong in The Hague,” as Blinken delivered the opening remarks of his farewell speech.
Another man called him a ‘monster’, accusing him of complicity in Israeli violence against civilians in Gaza.
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Both men were dragged out of the State Department briefing room by security personnel.
The ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas was announced on Wednesday, and is supposed to come into force on Sunday.
The US secretary of state said: “I am confident, and I fully expect that implementation will begin, as we said, on Sunday,” calling the ceasefire deal “a moment of historic possibility for the region and well beyond”.
But Israel has delayed its vote on whether to accept the deal, which was due on Thursday morning. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hamas of backtracking on part of the deal - an accusation the group denies.
Netanyahu is facing pressure from far-right members of his coalition, including national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who has threatened to resign if the ceasefire deal is approved.
The opposition leader in Israel’s parliament has vowed to support the ceasefire deal, however, in a rare agreement with Netanyahu’s Likud party.
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Yair Lapid, leader of the centrist Yesh Atid party, said: "I say to Benjamin Netanyahu, don't be afraid or intimidated, you will get every safety net you need to make the hostage deal.
"This is more important than any disagreement we've ever had."
During his press conference, Blinken said the US and Qatar have been trying to ‘tie up a loose end’ in the deal, and that he has been on the phone with Qatar, a key mediator, all morning.
The Israeli cabinet has reportedly moved their meeting to vote on the ceasefire agreement to tomorrow.
The ceasefire agreement promises the release of dozens of hostages held by Hamas and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israel, and would allow hundreds of thousands of people displaced in Gaza to return to what remains of their homes.Since it was announced that the deal was agreed on Wednesday, however, Israeli attacks on Gaza have killed at least 87 Palestinians, including at least 21 children and 25 women, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.