Israel has persistently pressured Al Jazeera Qatari mouthpiece over the story of rape of women in Al-Shifa Hospital inside Gaza saying it is a disgraceful fabrication.
After more than 24 hours of letting the story run freely, Al Jazeera deleted the page featuring their former story, which accused Israeli soldiers of allegedly perpetrating rape against women during the IDF’s latest excursion against Hamas.
Al Jazeera, however, hasn’t yet officially referred to the retraction, all content related to the allegation has been reportedly deleted.
Meanwhile, a US State Department official (the holder of the Israeli-Palestinian portfolio at the US State Department) claimed that Israel “systematically” sexually abuses Palestinian women.
IDF Brig.-Gen. (res.) Amir Avivi said he met with this US official and had discussions.
“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 said.
“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.”
Is it the official US position that IDF soldiers rape Palestinian women?
“When we meet with a State Department official holding the Israeli-Palestinian portfolio, every word she utters, as far as I’m concerned, is an official US position. Ultimately, she is a government official. When she says, for example, ‘You did not provide evidence that Hamas is stealing humanitarian aid and you are starving the population,’ what is she talking about? The IDF spokesperson shows [proof] every other day that Hamas is stealing food.
“You’re saying, guys, wake up and sit with these officials because they have a significant influence on what happens at the decision-maker level, and you will work to bridge the gaps.
“We will continue to meet with them, as we did with European Union officials, where many of the people we met said, ‘This is the first time we’re meeting an Israeli representative,’ even though it isn’t an official delegation. But we don’t have a big Foreign Ministry and not a lot of officials working abroad.”
JPOST
