US Muslim civil rights group calls for Blinken's resignation over Gaza aid claims

By Yasin Gungor

ISTANBUL (AA) — The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) called on Tuesday for the country's Secretary of State Antony Blinken to resign after a report suggesting he misled Congress on Israel's blockade of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

The Tuesday report by the ProPublica, an investigative news website, revealed that both the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration had concluded Israel deliberately obstructed aid deliveries to Gaza.

It suggested that Blinken contradicted these reports in May by telling Congress: "We do not currently assess that the Israeli government is prohibiting or otherwise restricting the transport or delivery of US humanitarian assistance."

ProPublica cited a USAID memo detailing Israeli interference with aid efforts, including attacks on aid workers and blockage of supplies at an Israeli port.

CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil rights organization, accused the Biden administration of complicity in "the Israeli genocide in Gaza."

US law stipulates that military assistance can be cut off if a country is found to be obstructing humanitarian aid.

The State Department and Blinken have not reacted to the report.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on Gaza since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas last October, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

Nearly 41,500 people, mostly women and children, have since been killed and around 96,100 injured, according to local health authorities.

The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of the territory amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.