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US State Department spokesman Vedant Patel. Photo/video.state.gov
WASHINGTON – The United States Department of State (Deplu) refused to describe Palestinians in the West Bank living under military occupation during a heated debate with journalists last week.
US State Department spokesman Vedant Patel shrugged off questions about Washington’s views on the status of the occupied West Bank following Israel’s military strike that killed 10 Palestinians in Jenin.
“What is the status of the Palestinian people in the West Bank, including Jenin… and elsewhere in the West Bank?” asked Arikat from Al-Quds newspaper to Vedant.
“It’s a simple question. Are they currently occupied?” asked Arikat again.
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Patel declined to answer the question despite repeated requests to clarify the US position on the status of the West Bank.
At one point, Patel remarkably remarked, “The status of the Palestinians is that they live in the territory.”
Frustrated at not getting an answer, Arikat asked whether the West Bank was considered a “different planet” and whether the US “went by the fact that they are under military occupation?” Patel again declined to answer the question.
“Vedant, are they occupied or not? What status do you give the Palestinians today? What status do they have?” Asked Arika continued to insist.
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