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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
National
Laura Pollock

Journalists forcibly removed from press conference after challenging US Gaza policy

A PALESTINIAN journalist was forcibly removed from a US State Department press conference after questioning secretary of state Antony Blinken on America's policy during Israel's assault on Gaza.

A video of Sam Husseini went viral on social media on Thursday evening, and showed the Palestinian and Jordanian reporter being dragged from a table of journalists and carried out of a press conference.

Husseini is seen gripping the edges of the table and shaking as officers surrounded him. He can be heard telling them "I'm a journalist not a potted plant", before adding "you're hurting me". 

The journalist had been trying to ask Blinken about the International Court of Justice's case accusing Israel of crimes against humanity and war crimes.

As he is carried out, Husseini shouts: "Criminal! Why aren't you in The Hague."

Max Blumenthal, editor of the Grayzone, also asked Blinken before being removed from the room: "Why did you keep the bombs flowing when we had a deal in May?"

Israel and Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire deal, raising the possibility of winding down the deadly and destructive bombardment on Gaza.

The deal, coming after weeks of painstaking negotiations in the Qatari capital, promises the release of dozens of hostages held by Hamas in phases, the release of 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.

The conference came as Mustafa Barghouti, secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative, criticised the Biden administration but specifically Blinken over his conduct throughout the war.

“Biden restrained himself from exercising any serious pressure on Israel,” he said. “I would even go further and say Biden and Blinken will probably be recorded in history as people who participated in facilitating, if not participating in the war crimes that happened in Gaza.”

Elsewhere, legal advocacy group International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) has called for accountability of those who were complicit in the war crimes.

The International Criminal Court previously issued arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant.

The group called for countries to "play their part" by committing to arrest Netanyahu and Gallant when they set foot in their country and for officials from other states who "aided and abetted this genocide to be held accountable for their complicity" following the deal's announcement.

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