Standing for Palestinians in the conflict with Israel before Friday’s ceasefire, Fox News’ Geraldo Rivera claimed the U.S. providing weapons for Israel’s defense has made the U.S. “complicit” in “crimes against humanity.”
The remarks echo those of Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., the only Palestinian-American in Congress.
“The fact that the United States of America is providing Israel many of the weapons Israel is using today to kill Palestinian civilians, without even demanding a ceasefire, Tlaib is right, that makes us complicit in an ongoing crime against humanity,” Rivera told Fox News last Wednesday.
The panel discussion featured Fox News’ conservative voice Katie Pavlich denouncing Rivera for echoing “propaganda” from Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization.
“That is such a dishonest argument to make: To accuse the Israelis and Americans of deliberately targeting civilians,” Pavlich shot back at Rivera. “We know, we have it on video, we’ve seen this for decades that Hamas deliberately places military targets in schools, media buildings, hospitals.”
Rivera suggested Hamas was merely retreating to safe places, but Pavlich said the terrorist targets ostensibly were seeking to use innocent citizens as “human shields” in order to blame Israel for what Rivera called “crimes against humanity.”
“So you’re justifying Hamas using human shields in order to make the argument exactly as you are,” Pavlich said.
Rivera began blaming the U.S. for the arms Israel has been using to defend itself after Hamas attacks.
“We have dozens of Palestinian children who have been killed in the last week with American bombs,” he said, adding later, “I am saying that an Israeli F-16 going 500 miles an hour is going to kill civilians.”
“You are repeating Hamas propaganda,” Pavlich shot back.
