State Dept flip-flops whether Israel and Hamas have ‘same standard’ for conduct

The U.S. State Department appears to have contradicted itself on whether Israel is held to a different moral standard than Hamas.

Yesterday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters that there was no “double standard” of expectations for either side of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

“Do we have a double standard? The answer is ‘no,’” Blinken said Monday while discussing the department’s report on human rights violations in the region.

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He continued, “As this report makes clear, in general, as we’re looking at human rights and the condition of human rights around the world, we apply the same standard to everyone.”

Ambassador David Satterfield, the State Department’s special envoy for Middle East humanitarian issues, however, seemed to directly contradict this assertion on Tuesday, saying that there is indeed a different standard of behavior expected from Israel in the conflict.

“Now with respect to Israel, we require from Israel — because it is the right and moral thing to do — a very different standard of conduct,” Satterfield told reporters during a press conference.

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Amb. David Satterfield, the State Department’s special envoy for Middle East humanitarian issues, speaks at a Senate Foreign Relations hearing. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

He continued, “And as I noted in my remarks, the president made clear on his visit to Israel shortly after Oct. 7, it’s not just strategically important for you to do this. It’s the morally right thing to do. It is the reflection of what Israel is — a democracy with values.”

The State Department’s annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices highlighted Israel prominently, featuring concerns over the country’s precautions to minimize the civilian toll of Palestinians on the first page, which is normally reserved for the most egregious of human rights abusers. 

In the report’s preface, Blinken addressed human rights concerns about the war between Israel and terrorist group Hamas prior to either Iran or the Taliban in Afghanistan. 

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Israeli army battle tanks move into an area along the border with the Gaza Strip and southern…