MR MILLER: Good afternoon,
everyone. Sorry to be a little late, or a lot late actually. I’m going to start
with some opening comments about travel. Secretary Blinken will leave tomorrow for
travel to Tirana, Albania, and Munich, Germany. This will be the Secretary’s
first trip to Albania and while there, he will reaffirm the strength of the
United States’ relationship with Albania. Albania has been a strong voice
in support of Ukraine’s defense of its sovereignty and freedom against
Russi
a’s brutal aggression. Albania was a principled leader during its tenure on the UN
Security Council and as the 2020 OSCE Chair, and is a key partner for stability
and progress in the Western Balkans. The Secretary will then travel to
the Munich Security Conference as part of the delegation led by Vice
President Harris. While in Munich, Secretary Blinken will hold bilateral meetings
with global leaders and underscore the importance of the enduring U.S. commitment to the
NATO Alliance. The
NATO Alliance has secured a historic peace for both the United
States and Europe for the past 75 years and is helping the United States maintain an
edge over our adversaries for the future. The Secretary will also reaffirm the United
States’ enduring support for the people of Ukraine, continue discussions with partners
on how to achieve lasting peace and security in the Middle East, and highlight our steadfast
commitment to transatlantic security. We will have more announcements about his
individual
meetings in Munich over the course of the trip. And with that, I will take your
questions. Humeyra, you want to start? QUESTION: Hi, Matt. So — MR MILLER: You’re in a different seat today. I
didn’t know people were allowed to change seats. QUESTION: I think we can – we
can have some mobility here. QUESTION: (Inaudible.) MR MILLER: You’re not allowed; you
can only sit there. It’d be confusing. Humeyra. QUESTION: And Matt is not
here, so I just want to — MR MILLER: I noticed, yeah
. QUESTION: I just wanted to ask a little bit
about UNRWA given that the supplemental passed in the Senate, although we know it has a long
way in the House and all that. But there is a provision – a provision has been added recently
basically barring United States from resuming its funding for UNRWA. I just want to sort
of a little bit do fact checking. Does that mean that the question of whether or not the
United States will resume its funding to UNRWA, when and if the investigation is con
cluded, is
in a way irrelevant and this provision makes it almost impossible for the administration
to resume its funding for the agency? MR MILLER: So I think it’s hard to
answer the question because the high degree of uncertainty that you kind
of got at the intro to your question, which is this is a law that has passed
on chamber of Congress. We don’t know what will happen in the House, but
as you heard the President just say, we very much urge that Congress – that the
House take up the
legislation and pass it. That being said, we don’t know
what the final provision will be, but of course we will comply with the
law whatever it ultimately looks like. QUESTION: But the way the provision has
been added, it looks like there was quite a lot of bipartisan support from Congress.
So do you think that that would mean even if this supplemental fails, there is going to
be another legislation and this provision will likely be put in there? How concerned are
you, basically, that the
administration by law will be barred from resuming its funding for
UNRWA, and what alternatives are you looking at? MR MILLER: So I just don’t want to get into trying
to speculate about what Congress might do. As you know, that is always somewhat of an unpredictable
situation, and I think it’s an incredibly unpredictable situation right now if you just
look at the back and forth over this very piece of legislation between the House and the Senate
over the past few weeks. I will say, as a g
eneral principle, we support the work that UNRWA does. We
support delivering humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people in Gaza. The United States has
been the largest funder of humanitarian assistance to Palestinians, and we expect to continue
funding humanitarian assistance to Palestinians. We, of course, have suspended
our funding to UNRWA while the investigation is ongoing. We don’t
know what Congress ultimately will do, but we will explore any and all available
alternatives to
ensure that humanitarian assistance can continue to flow from the United
States to innocent civilians who need it. QUESTION: And are you already
looking at options – those options, like rerouting this money to alternative, like,
humanitarian organizations on the ground? And are you encouraging other countries to resume their
funding or even, like, increase their funding? MR MILLER: I don’t want to get too much into
internal deliberations, and I certainly don’t want to get into the conversat
ions that we’re
having with other countries. As you know, we have suspended our funding. I know other
countries have done the same. I know we’ve done that in good faith because we think it’s
important to see the results of the investigation, and it’s a legitimate thing for other
countries to want to wait and see the results of the investigation and how UNRWA
responds to that investigation as well. But of course, we are always looking at
all available alternatives. We see the legislation th
at has passed in one branch of
Congress. It is certainly possible that that could pass through another branch
and ultimately be the law. Also, of course we look at all available
alternatives because, as I said, it is our priority to ensure that innocent
civilians in Gaza can continue to get humanitarian assistance from the United States and from
other countries who want to provide it to them. QUESTION: Okay. Final thing is, like, the end of
February is a critical date for UNRWA. So do you
have, like, anything concrete planning towards
that date? It’s not too distant in the future. MR MILLER: As I said, we are engaging in
conversations with the United Nations and with our international partners about the
importance of ensuring that humanitarian assistance is not interrupted. We’ll
continue to do that. There’s nothing I can provide you in terms of specifics
today, but those are conversations that are ongoing. And I would also say this does
highlight why it’s important that th
e United Nations investigation proceed as quickly as
possible, because of this very real challenge. QUESTION: Could I – could I – oh, that’s fine. MR MILLER: Yeah, go ahead. QUESTION: Suppose that the investigation
comes satisfactory and so on. Will the U.S. make a commitment that – to continue to — MR MILLER: So Said, whenever you
start a question with “suppose,” it’s like starting with a question with “if.” QUESTION: Okay. Well —
MR MILLER: You get to a hypothetical; I don’t want to engage
in a hypothetical.
We will wait and see what the — QUESTION: Right, okay. No, I mean,
you are – you are (inaudible) — MR MILLER: Let me – let me just finish
my answer. We will wait and see what the results of the investigation show, and
importantly, how the United Nations and how UNRWA respond to the results of that
investigation. That is as important. But both the backward-looking aspect of it – the
backward-looking aspect of it is important; so is the forward-looking aspect
in terms of
how they respond, how they impose accountability for any employees
who are shown to have engaged in wrongdoing, and how they put in place any measures to
ensure this can’t be repeated in the future. QUESTION: Okay. Now, we know that UNRWA is
not only in Gaza. It is in the West Bank; it is in Jordan; it is in Lebanon; it is in
Syria. I mean, it takes care of millions of Palestinians. I mean, do you see an alternative
to UNRWA after so many decades of being there, knowing exactly what to do,
making
sure that Palestinians in these refugee – awful refugee places are able
to eat and go to school, get medical care? MR MILLER: So Said, we support
the work that UNRWA does. QUESTION: Right. MR MILLER: So I just – but this is — QUESTION: You’re the biggest donor. MR MILLER: I just – I want to make
sure that is very clear. We support — QUESTION: Yeah. You are the largest donor. MR MILLER: I know. We support – that is exactly
right. And that is why we think it’s so important that they co
nduct this investigation. And that is
– I mean, this is just kind of – we’re speaking with this in relation to UNRWA, but this is
always true when you see credible allegations of wrongdoing at any organization, whether it be
a government entity, whether it be a nonprofit, whether it be a private corporation. It’s
important that that organization take action to ensure that people are held accountable, that they
implement reforms as necessary. And that is all the more so – more true at an org
anization that
depends on funding from donors, as UNRWA does. QUESTION: Okay. But I don’t
want to belabor the issue — MR MILLER: Please do. QUESTION: — obviously that you – (laughter) –
yeah, okay, I will belabor the issue. (Laughter.) MR MILLER: Don’t say things that
aren’t true, Said. (Laughter.) QUESTION: Okay. Exactly. But this is the thing.
I mean, we are all expecting this investigation to conclude, and this investigation either can
conclude positively or negatively. They say okay, t
his is it, we are going to take one measure,
one, two, three, four, five measures. So at least hypothetically, if you’ll allow me –
(laughter) – if these – if and when – I mean, one would expect that the results would be
satisfactory to all the donors. If they are, then one should expect that
UNRWA would continue to function. MR MILLER: When this investigation concludes,
we will have a response to it. But I don’t want, for obvious reasons, to offer what that response
might be while the inv
estigation is very much going – is very much underway. But as I said, we
support the work that UNRWA does, not just in Gaza but everywhere else where it operates, because it
provides humanitarian assistance that is critical. QUESTION: This is what I mean. Even if you get
a satisfactory result from the investigation, but the Congress is barring you from, like — QUESTION: Yes, exactly. QUESTION: They’re going ahead
with – they’re prohibiting you to fund UNRWA, then what are you
going to do? W
hat’s your solution? MR MILLER: As I said, we will
explore all available alternatives to deliver humanitarian assistance to the
Palestinian people. We will follow the law, however. We don’t have any choice to do
that, and, of course, that’s what we’ll do. QUESTION: Could there be an
executive waiver in this case? MR MILLER: I’ll come to you next.
QUESTION: I’m sorry. Yeah. MR MILLER: You are now asking me to speculate about a law that has not
yet been passed, so I do — QUESTION: No, I’m not
. Because this
has been done before many times. MR MILLER: I do not know what provision,
if any, will ultimately pass Congress. QUESTION: I have some more questions that are — MR MILLER: There’s no – there’s just no way to
answer that question. I’ll come back to you. QUESTION: I’ll wait.
MR MILLER: Yeah. QUESTION: No, no, just to follow up on that. MR MILLER: Yeah. QUESTION: I mean, you say you support
UNRWA, but you’re effectively dropping UNRWA. You support that language in the
supplement
al. We’ll see if it passes, whatever. But at the moment,
you do support that language. MR MILLER: Look, when it — QUESTION: And that language
cuts funding for UNRWA. MR MILLER: When it comes to — QUESTION: So how can you say on
one hand you support UNRWA and on the other you say but we won’t give you any money. MR MILLER: So —
QUESTION: That’s a little bit – an easy way — MR MILLER: So when it comes
to dealing with Congress, you always have to make difficult choices. QUESTION: Yeah. MR MILLE
R: And this bill contains funding
for Ukraine, it contains funding for Israel, contains funding for our troops in the region,
and it also contains funding for humanitarian assistance for innocent Palestinians. And we think
that funding is important to obtain from Congress. But Congress gets a say in how this works.
They’re a co-equal branch of government, and we engage in a back and forth with them, and
ultimately you have to make kind of difficult decisions about whether you are willing
t
o support a bill or not, and we made the decision that ultimately this bill is worthy of
support because of all the good things it does. QUESTION: Can I ask about the Cairo talks today? Do you have any sort of readout of
how the conversations are going? MR MILLER: I do not. QUESTION: Do you expect a counterproposal
to the counterproposal vehicle you guys — MR MILLER: I do not have a readout of how the
conversations are going. I think even if I did, I would probably decline to give it from he
re.
I can restate what we said going into these conversations, which is we do believe a deal
is possible. We believe a deal is important to achieve. We’re going to continue to push for
a deal because we think it’s important to get the hostages out and allow for a pause in the
fighting to get more humanitarian assistance in and allow people to get to safety, but
I don’t have any update on the talks. QUESTION: There are reports that a shipment
of flour from the U.S. is being blocked at Ashdo
d by some of the more extremist
members of the Netanyahu government. Do you have any confirmation of
this and what kind of message — MR MILLER: So I have seen those reports. There’s
flour – U.S. flour that has gone into Gaza through Ashdod – not through Ashdod – goes into Israel
through Ashdod and then it ultimately makes its way into Gaza – previously. We have funded flour
that would provide food for 1.5 million Gazans for five months. It is critical that this flour make
it to Gaza. It is
critical that people have access to the nourishment that it would provide. And we
are engaging with the Government of Israel to try and make sure, not – that flour can continue
to get in, not just as a one-off shipment, but over – for a sustained period over months.
We had a commitment from the Government of Israel to let that flour go through, and we
expect them to deliver on that commitment. QUESTION: And then there were a couple cases
of Americans being detained by the IDF. One of the f
amilies – Samaher Esmail – says
that she was beaten in Israeli custody, has been denied her medications, and has
also not been granted consular access. Can you confirm any of this? I know
there are privacy considerations, but — MR MILLER: Yeah. I mean, I am, unfortunately,
not able to talk specifically about it. I can say that, as is the case anywhere in the
world, we have no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens
overseas in any of these circumstances, whether it be
in Israel or elsewhere. We seek
consular access. We seek access to the individual, and we talk to their family when appropriate. We
try to ensure that detainees or people who are arrested are treated fairly, are treated humanely,
have full access to due process, have access to counsel. But as is often the case, due to privacy
considerations that are just in the law that don’t give me any wiggle room at all, I’m unable
to speak in detail about this specific case. QUESTION: What about the tw
o who
were detained in Gaza last week? MR MILLER: Unfortunately, for the same
reason, I’m not able to speak in detail about their case because of the privacy
rules. But I would just say in general, just because of this provision in the law that
prohibits me from speaking about what we’re doing when it comes to any specific case, you
should not interpret that as a lack of activity by the United States Government. In any case when
there is an American that is detained overseas, as I said, we
first seek for information. We
seek information about their case. Then we seek to ensure that they are treated fairly,
that they are treated humanely, that they are given due process. And that’s true whether it
be in Israel or anywhere else in the world. QUESTION: And then —
QUESTION: Just to follow on (inaudible). MR MILLER: Said, let me – just let
me – Said, don’t interrupt – please don’t interrupt your colleagues. Yeah. QUESTION: (Inaudible.)
QUESTION: On this same trend, there was — MR
MILLER: Yeah, just – just take a beat. QUESTION: — another American who was reportedly
shot by Israeli forces over the weekend, an American teenager. Do you have any
information about the circumstances of his death and are you concerned
this is becoming a trend? We’ve seen two American teens shot in the
past month by Israeli forces. MR MILLER: We are aware of this case. We
are seeking more information about this. I would say there is – has been
another case, and in that case, we called for
an investigation. There
is an investigation that’s ongoing, and in that previous case what we’ve said – and I
would reiterate today – is if that investigation finds that there should be accountability,
we expect there to be accountability. We are still at the information-gathering process with
this second case. But as is always the case, if the information leads us to believe
there should be further investigation or accountability measures, we will, of course,
call for those, both publicl
y and privately. QUESTION: I have another unrelated to this. MR MILLER: Okay. Go ahead. QUESTION: I wanted to follow up on Jenny’s
question about the talks in Cairo. I understand you’re limited in what you can say, and without
getting into the details or the tenor of the talks, can you confirm that the Israeli delegation
arrived with something in hand to discuss? MR MILLER: I think I should let
the Israeli delegation speak for matters that pertain to the Government of Israel. QUESTION: Okay.
Did you ever receive an
explanation as to why there was a delay in confirming that the Israelis
would take part in these talks? MR MILLER: Again, that’s a matter I think best
addressed to the Government of Israel, not to me. QUESTION: Okay. Let me ask you about
Rafah. There was an investigation completed by Amnesty International that
evaluated four strikes that took place last year in Rafah and found that those
were not legitimate military targets. So, one, do you have a response to the f
indings of
that investigation? And two, does that alter the United States thinking as the Israeli Government
weighs the possibility of an incursion into Rafah? MR MILLER: I don’t have any response to
that specific investigation. Obviously, we are monitoring the evolving situation in Gaza.
We examine the facts as they are available to us, but I don’t have any assessment about those
particular strikes. But it would in no way change our conclusion, which is that the
Government of Israel befor
e it launches any military operation in Gaza – or I’m sorry
– in Rafah needs to have a plan to deal with the humanitarian situation there. We’ve seen
the Government of Israel ask for such a plan to be developed. We think that’s appropriate.
And we think that once that plan is developed, it needs to be credible, and it needs to
be one that they can actually execute. QUESTION: And to confirm, you have not yet heard back on a plan that is credible
or executable from the Israelis? MR MILLER: No
. It’s my understanding
that the – that I think the prime minister only directed the creation
of this plan Thursday, Friday, so no. QUESTION: One more. The status of
the UN mission that the Secretary of State announced over a month ago
now, is it any closer to happening in northern Gaza? What prospects do
Gazans have to return to their homes? MR MILLER: So we want that mission to happen
as soon as possible. The initial steps of it happened week before last, which was a two-day
reconnaissa
nce mission that went into northern Gaza. That reconnaissance mission had been
delayed because of fighting on the ground in northern Gaza. They were able to get in, not
see all of northern Gaza but see parts of it, and then made the decision that it was not safe for
the full-blown assessment mission to go forward. We want that assessment mission to go forward as
soon as possible. We’re engaged with the UN about how it can go forward, whether it goes and surveys
the entire north, or whether
there are places that they can go that is safe. This is not just a
question of unexploded ordnance, although that’s a real question, but it’s a question of actual
live fighting going on on the ground in Gaza. As I said previously, there are Hamas fighters
who had gone underground – and in this case, I don’t mean necessarily legitimately underground
into tunnels – but had gone underground that have now come out and have resumed fighting
and resumed taking shots at the Israeli military. We wa
nt to see when this – we want to
see this UN mission happen as soon as possible, but I think it’s in everyone’s interest, including
the UN’s, that the mission be safe and that people be able to conduct the mission without being put
in harm’s way themselves. And so we’ll continue to engage with the UN to try to get that off
the ground really just as soon as we can. QUESTION: So just to – I mean,
from the U.S.’s perspective, from what you know about the mission
and those circumstances on the
ground, there’s no near-term prospect for Gazan
civilians to return to their homes? MR MILLER: So I don’t want to – I mean, to
answer that question, you’d have to be able to know what the findings of the mission are, and
the mission hasn’t launched yet. But certainly we don’t expect Gazans really to be able to return
to their homes until this mission is completed, and we know the circumstances. Because
you don’t, again, want people to go into homes that are unsafe, into buildings that are
unsafe, into buildings that are boobytrapped, into buildings where Hamas has left IEDs
or where there is unexploded ordnance. So the mission is critically important,
but I can’t put a timetable on it. Yeah, go ahead. QUESTION: I have two questions, Matt, first about
protecting journalists in war zones. Last night, our colleague in Al Jazeera in Gaza got
targeted. Our correspondent lost his leg, and our cameraman also suffered severe injuries
in Gaza. Are you still in contact with the Israe
lis pressing them to make everything
possible to avoid targeting journalists? And my second question is just if you have — MR MILLER: Let me do the first one first,
and then I’ll come back for the second one. QUESTION: Okay. MR MILLER: So first of all,
let me offer, of course, condolences to your colleagues who have
been injured, and I know they are not the first Al Jazeera journalists to have
been harmed during this conflict. So they have our sincere condolences as do their
families and a
s do all of you at Al Jazeera. Yes, we continue to engage with the Government
of Israel to make clear that journalists ought to be protected. We understand, of course,
that this is an active war zone. Journalists are doing – are putting themselves in harm’s way
to bring us the truth, and we support their work in bringing us the truth, and we want to see that
they’re protected to the maximum extent possible. So go ahead with your second. QUESTION: My second question, if you
have any comments
on what Borrell was – statements yesterday or day before yesterday
when he said that if the United States wants to see – to minimize civilian casualties in
Gaza, they should stop supporting Israel with arms shipments or with arm ammunitions. And he
compared that to what the United States did in 2006 in the war on Lebanon when they put a pause
on supplying Israel with arms and ammunition. MR MILLER: So just as a factual matter, I’ve
checked with people here about the pause in 2006, and no o
ne is aware of that actually being
the case. So just as first a factual matter. Secondly, with respect to the question about
ongoing support, this is where we just have a fundamental disagreement, where we think
it is in our national security interest and it is in – that we continue to support
Israel’s right to ensure that the October 7th attacks cannot be repeated. We want to
see them have the ability to go after Hamas, to defeat Hamas. We know that Hamas
wants to continue to target Israe
l. Hamas has been very clear about what their
goals are, and they have not changed since October 7th. They want to continue to launch
terrorist attacks. They are committed to the full-scale destruction of Israel, and we
want to see Israel to be able to answer that. We want to see Israel be able to answer
the attacks from Hizballah in the north. We want to see Israel be able to deter attacks
from Iran and malign activities from Iran, which continues to fund other proxies that are
hostile to
the state of Israel. So that is true. And it’s also true that we want to see Israel
do more to protect civilians from harm. And so I know sometimes it is difficult for people
to understand that two things can be true, but those are the two things that we believe
in. And so the obvious tension is trying to ensure that Israel can accomplish that first
objective while doing everything in its power to ensure that civilian harm is minimized. And
so we engage with them on that second question, o
ffer them ideas and expertise and ways to
minimize civilian harm. We have seen civilian deaths come down from the levels they are. They
are nowhere near where they should be. They are still far too high. There are still far too
many Palestinians that continue to die. It’s why we continue to engage to try to achieve
a humanitarian pause and why we continue to work to try to bring a durable end to this
conflict, and that’s what we’ll continue to do. Yeah, go ahead. QUESTION: Moving to another
region and topic, Senegal. MR MILLER: Yeah. QUESTION: Could you just speak to us a little
bit about that in the sense of how you perceive things? The internet has been cut again.
The protests are getting actually deadly. The government banned a march that was planned
for today, and it looks like there potentially could be a march for this weekend if it’s
not banned again. The situation is getting worse and worse every day. What is your take on
that? What is the U.S. concerned about there?
MR MILLER: We are extremely concerned about the
situation in Senegal, the political situation in Senegal. In fact, the Secretary spoke to the
president of Senegal this morning to reiterate our concern about the situation there and to
make quite clear that we want to see elections continued as they were scheduled. We want
to see them take place as soon as possible. QUESTION: As they were scheduled.
They were scheduled for February 25th. MR MILLER: Yeah, we want to see – we
want to see a re
turn to elections. We’d like to see them February 25th. If
they don’t take place on February 25th, we want to see them take place as soon
as realistically possible after that. QUESTION: Okay. And so he spoke
to the president this morning? MR MILLER: Today, today. QUESTION: Thank you. MR MILLER: Yeah, Alex. QUESTION: Thank you, Matt. I want to go
back to your opening statement. Before that, is it your understanding that Russia already
has the upper hand in the war due to delay? MR MILLER: I
would not say that they have the
upper hand. I mean, we’ve had a lot of people make assessments about this conflict going back to the
beginning that turned out to be wrong when they assessed that Russia had the upper hand, and I
would never want to underestimate both the bravery of the Ukrainian military and the skill that
the Ukrainian military has shown, and I should add to the skill, the innovation that they have
shown, in bringing new weapons to this conflict. But we have already seen a
n impact
because of Congress’s failure to act. We have already seen shortages on the
battlefield. We’ve seen depleted stocks on the battlefield. And that has affected the
Ukrainian military’s ability to answer the ongoing attacks from Russia and why it’s –
it’s why we think it’s so important and it is why you just heard from the President in
the last hour that the House act as soon as possible without delay to pass the funding
request that the President put forward. QUESTION: The President
made his point about
the importance of U.S. leadership and you also amplified that. My question is let’s talk about
the damage that’s already done. The Secretary is headed to Munich. Other than explaining to allies
how Washington works, what is he going to say to make the case about the U.S. leadership
and the current state of U.S. leadership? MR MILLER: He’s going to make the case that
the President made, that as long as Joe Biden is president we will continue to support NATO,
we will co
ntinue to support our European allies, and we will continue to stand with Ukraine. You
just heard that from the President a moment ago. And I think you will also hear him say what I
said from this podium yesterday, which is that one of the hallmarks of this country is our enduring
bipartisan support for NATO. If you look at polls, and we don’t usually do polls from this podium,
but this isn’t a political poll. It’s an issue poll. There is broad standing – broad widespread
support from the A
merican people for NATO. There is also broad widespread support for NATO in
Congress, and we expect that support to continue. QUESTION: Thank you. I have two more, if
I may. Can I get your comment on Russia today’s – Russia’s decision to put Estonian
PM and other political leaders to a blacklist? MR MILLER: Let me take that
one back and get you an answer. QUESTION: And finally on Azerbaijan-Armenia,
last year the Secretary when he was in Munich, he put together a trilateral meeting. Now the
re’s
a tension going on the few past two days. Is he planning to meet with the leaders, and also
what is your reaction to what’s going on? MR MILLER: So we are concerned by the reports
of deadly military-to-military clashes which resulted in several casualties. We offer our
heartfelt condolences to the families of those killed and injured. The use of force undermines
negotiations. The only way to a sustainable peace is at the negotiating table. Any ceasefire
violations should be investigat
ed and properly addressed. As the Secretary continually
emphasizes, the United States is committed to Armenia-Azerbaijan peace negotiations. And as
it perhaps to the Secretary’s schedule, I don’t t think you were listening very closely to my
opening remarks where I said we will make further – we will make further announcements about his
schedule in Munich as we get closer to the date. QUESTION: And will Special Advisor Bono
accompany him on the trip at some time? MR MILLER: I just don’t hav
e any
further comments about who will be traveling or where we – with whom
we will be meeting while in Munich. Go ahead. QUESTION: Thank you. Circling back
to the Gaza hostage negotiations, it’s been reported that a major sticking
point that’s emerged is Hamas’ demands that prisoners again be released as part of
any deal, this time including individuals who have been convicted of very serious
offenses. Would the U.S. see the release of any convicted terrorists as potentially
detrimental t
o U.S. national security? MR MILLER: I just don’t think I
should negotiate from this podium about what is obviously a very
sensitive and delicate question. QUESTION: So does that to imply that
it’s something that could be negotiated? MR MILLER: It is not to imply anything other
than that these are sensitive negotiations going on that do not just involve the United
States but involve the Government of Israel, which is ultimately the country that
would have to make that decision, as well as
the governments of Qatar and Egypt.
And I don’t think I should say anything from this podium that could be seen in any way to
impact those negotiations one way or the other. QUESTION: And one follow: Does the U.S.
still assess that Israel is negotiating in this as in good faith and that it shares the
administration’s interest in reaching a deal? MR MILLER: We have seen public statements
from the Government of Israel that they want to secure the release of hostages. When we
were in Israel l
ast week, the prime minister reiterated that desire directly to Secretary
Blinken, that it is a top priority for him to secure the release of these hostages. So yes,
we do believe they’re acting in good faith. Go ahead, Said. QUESTION: I just want to go back to
Jennifer’s question. I know you answered on the young Palestinian American
that was shot dead last Saturday, Mohammad Ahmed Khuda. But like a month
before or less than a month before, another Palestinian American was shot dead,
Tawf
ic Abdel Jabbar. Anything new on his case? MR MILLER: I spoke – in fact, I spoke
to that in her response. I said when that – when – after that incident, after we
gathered initial information, we called for an investigation. That – hold on, Said; just
let me finish. That investigation is ongoing, and we will wait to see what the results
of that investigation show because that’s obviously appropriate, and if the
investigation shows there ought to be further accountability measures taken,
we
will not hesitate to call for them. QUESTION: But does Israel have a good record in investigating the killing of
Palestinian Americans? Do you — MR MILLER: Said, I want to wait — QUESTION: Okay. But we have
– we have – we have done — MR MILLER: Before I speak to that, I want to wait – I do not want to prejudge the
outcome of an investigation that is underway. Humeyra, you sound like you had something else. QUESTION: So just a few things on that.
So you said if the investigation yields to som
e sort of wrongdoing, we will
call for accountability measures. MR MILLER: If it shows that accountability
is appropriate, we will call for it. QUESTION: Right. So then it’s again going to be the Israelis to take those
accountability measures? MR MILLER: I do not want to — QUESTION: So not (inaudible) U.S. — MR MILLER: You’re asking me to go a little far
down a hypothetical path that we are not yet — QUESTION: I’m just trying to – I’m just trying — MR MILLER: I understand what
you’re trying
to get – I’m not — QUESTION: I’m just trying
to understand, like, what exactly the accountability measure
will be if there would be one. MR MILLER: I do – there were two ifs there, and
I do not – they get back to the – they were — QUESTION: Yeah, yeah, but — MR MILLER: Hold on. It gets back to the place that
I do not know what the investigation will show, so I’m not prepared to speculate
on what our response might be. QUESTION: Yeah, because you guys are calling
for investigations. There
are now like a lot of different incidents, right – some of them are
involving American citizens, some of them are Palestinians. There are like a wide range of video
footage showing the detonation of a university, for example. So assuming that you have flagged
many, if not all, of these incidents and asked questions about the conduct here, you have a lot
of possible investigations or at least questions asked to IDF. I guess what I’m trying to
get at is: What makes you think – what is the pat
h to accountability here from the U.S.
side? How will you ensure the accountability? And what makes you think that, given the
cases of, for example, Shireen Abu Akleh, who was an American Palestinian journalist – what
makes you think that there will be accountability? MR MILLER: So we deal with the Government
of Israel in the same way we deal with every country in the world when it comes
to treatment of United States citizens, which is when we see reports of U.S. citizens
that have been de
tained, have been arrested, that have been killed, have been in any
way potentially mistreated, we first gather information. If it’s appropriate, we ask for a
full investigation. If that investigation shows that there ought to be accountability,
we call for accountability measures. I will also state that when it comes to activity
in Israel, we – the United States has shown that it is willing to impose its own accountability
measures when we think it’s appropriate. You’ve seen us roll out vi
sa bans with respect to
extremist settlers in the West Bank. You’ve seen us impose financial sanctions when it
comes to extremist settlers in the West Bank. So when it comes to accountability, it is
always appropriate that the host – that the government in question have the responsibility
to take the first actions. That is the right, that is the responsibility that we expect any
government to take. But we have shown that, when we think more needs to be done,
we are willing to take further
action. QUESTION: Right. And are you satisfied with
the answers and the level of response that you’re getting from Israeli authorities and IDF
when you raise these incidents? Are they, like — MR MILLER: So we’re a little bit mixing
apples and – we’re mixing a little bit — QUESTION: No, it’s just like – no,
it’s a side thing, like – I’m — MR MILLER: Just – hold on,
just let me say – you’re mixing consular issues and
actions in Gaza, which are — QUESTION: No, no, not consular
issues necessa
rily, no. MR MILLER: I know, but there’s a — QUESTION: I’m just trying to get
a sense of like how responsive they are when you raise these issues with them. MR MILLER: We have the ability to get answers
from the Government of Israel when we raise them. QUESTION: Great. And my final thing is
Chris Van Hollen, Senator Chris Van Hollen, in his floor speech accused Israel of,
quote, “textbook war crime,” quote, in remarks sort of detailing a lack of
access to food in Gaza, which gives me anothe
r excuse to ask a previous question from
other briefings. Is there any ongoing atrocity determination process within this building
looking at whether there has been breaches in Israel’s – breaches of international
rules of war in Israel’s military conduct? MR MILLER: So, as I’ve said before, we are
monitoring the evolving situation in Gaza and are examining facts as they develop as part
of our regular work and normal process. I’m not going to get into what the internal
deliberations look l
ike. We do seek to thoroughly assess reports of civilian harm by
authorized recipients of U.S.-provided defense articles around the world, including under
the Civilian Harm Incident Response Guidance, the CHIRG. We can’t comment on the specifics
of ongoing reviews, but as we have said before, we are reviewing incidents in the current
conflict according to the process set out in the CHIRG. That process is not intended to
function as a rapid response mechanism. Rather, it is designed to syste
matically assess civilian
harm incidents and develop appropriate policy responses to reduce the risk of such
incidents occurring in the future, and to drive partners to conduct military operations
in accordance with international humanitarian law. QUESTION: So you do have CHIRG processes
looking into Israel’s military conduct ongoing? MR MILLER: We do – we have said that before, yes. QUESTION: Thanks.
MR MILLER: Janne, go ahead. QUESTION: Thank you, Matt. On Russia, North
Korea, China, Nort
h Korean delegation visited Russia today at the invitation of the Russian
parliament. And Kim Su-gil, who head of the North Korean delegation, is on the U.S. and South
Korea sanctions list against North Korea. And Kim Su-gil is also involvement in the development of
ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction while he was director of the military’s general
political bureau. How would you comment? MR MILLER: I don’t have any specific comment other than that we will always seek to
appr
opriately enforce our sanctions. QUESTION: Okay. Secondly, China is also violating
sanctions against North Korea. How do you think Russia and China violation of sanctions against
North Korea will affect UN Security Council? MR MILLER: Again, we will always
appropriately enforce all of our sanctions. Go ahead. QUESTION: Thanks, Matthew. Today Secretary
Blinken hosted King Abdullah. What is the State Department doing to get
Jordan to extradite Ahlam Tamimi, a terrorist wanted by the U.S. for
a
bombing that killed two Americans in 2001? And then do you think Democrats and
Republicans in the House should use the discharge petition to bypass Speaker
Johnson in passing the Senate supplemental? MR MILLER: So as it pertains
to your first question, I’m going to defer comment
to the Department of Justice, as we always do when it pertains to matters of
extradition. And with respect to your second, I certainly don’t want to comment on
internal legislative dynamics in the House. QUESTIO
N: Thank you.
MR MILLER: Guita, go ahead. QUESTION: Thanks, Matt. As you’re working
towards release of the Israeli hostages and sending humanitarian aid into Gaza and everything
related to that war, Iran today test-launched two ballistic missiles, and it seems like they have
just converted a container ship into some ship to carry weaponry in. Do you feel – does the Biden
administration feel pressured in expediting, settling, and putting an end, bringing
an end to the conflict in the Gaza St
rip? MR MILLER: So we want to bring an end to the
conflict in Gaza as soon as possible for a host of reasons. One is to stop the suffering
of the – of innocent civilians in Gaza. One is to find a way to ensure Israel’s lasting
security. You’ve seen the Secretary engage in diplomacy around this question, where he’s
traveled the region to coordinate with partner countries about a way to find a durable and
lasting peace. And of course, it’s very much to end the risk of instability and end the
risk of
further conflict. That has always been the case. QUESTION: And what Iran is doing,
including what its proxies are doing, that’s not – is – that’s
not adding to the pressure? MR MILLER: No, not – look, Iran’s proxies have
engaged in destabilizing activity before October 7th. And of course don’t forget that Hamas is
one of Iran’s proxy groups that it funds and has funded for years – that is the – that is the
instigator of October 7th and who is responsible for the attacks of October
7th and is responsible
for this entire conflict in the first place. So we have long seen destabilizing activities from
Iran, and we have held Iran accountable for those activities, and we will continue to hold them
accountable for those activities going forward. QUESTION: Matt, another subject that has
been a concern of the U.S. regarding Iran: its nuclear program. For the umpteenth time now, IAEA director general today has again expressed
concern saying that Iran’s nuclear program is not t
ransparent. Where does that fit in?
Where – isn’t that a matter of concern, that while you’re busy in the Middle East that
Iran could go further than where it is right now? MR MILLER: We – it remains the policy
of the United States to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon; that has
not changed and it will not change. And we will continue to engage with the IAEA as
well as with our partner countries in the region and beyond to ensure that
it cannot achieve such a weapon. Go over here
. QUESTION: Thank you, Matt. According to media
reports on Monday, a group of 20 unidentified individual seized Nobel Laureate Professor
Muhammad Yunus offices. And as you are aware that Bangladesh regime has taken control over
one-sided parliament, judiciary, media, and anti-corruption, now the entity like Grameen.
So what is your perspectives on this situation? MR MILLER: So I would say regarding the multiple
criminal cases filed against Dr. Muhammad Yunus, we note that the labor case was
tried with unusual
speed. The anti-corruption commission has approved a charge sheet for additional cases. Those have
drawn widespread condemnation from around the world. We share the concerns voiced by other
international observers that these cases may represent a misuse of Bangladesh’s labor laws
to harass and intimidate Dr. Yunus. We worry the perceived misuse of labor and anti-corruption
laws could raise questions about the rule of law and dissuade future foreign direct investment,
an
d we encourage the Bangladeshi Government to ensure a fair and transparent legal process
for Dr. Yunus as the appeals process continues. Go ahead. QUESTION: First, (inaudible) and Taliban announced
that two Taliban detainees from Guantanamo have released previously and were kept in Oman,
they went back to Kabul and received red-carpet reception. At the meanwhile, there are some report
that Mr. Rahim Haqmal, who were assistant to Osama bin Laden, have released by the U.S. agency. Isn’t
the U
.S. Government worried about releasing this high-profile terrorist and if they pose any
direct attack or threat to the United States? MR PRICE: So with respect to the
detainees that were released in Oman, we were not involved in that release. It
occurred after the expiration of security guarantees made by Oman during
their initial transfer in 2017. QUESTION: Okay, another question — MR PRICE: Yeah. QUESTION: — about the Doha summit.
What’s the United States sense in the upcoming UN conferen
ce in
the Doha about Afghanistan? MR PRICE: So Special Representative for
Afghanistan Tom West and Special Envoy for Women, Girls, and Human Rights in Afghanistan Rina Amiri
attended the last UN secretary-general’s meeting of Afghanistan envoys in May of last year, and
they do plan to attend the next one this month in Doha. The meeting follows the UN Security
Council resolution on Afghanistan adopted in December. The United States strongly
supports the resolution’s call for a UN special en
voy for Afghanistan, and urges the
secretary-general to appoint a special envoy as soon as possible. A special envoy will be
well-positioned to coordinate international engagement on Afghanistan to achieve the
objectives laid out in this resolution. Go back there. Yeah. QUESTION: It’s me. I have a couple questions,
one about Egypt. Have you spoke with Egypt about their roles during the Rafah operation that
we are expect? And are you going to, like, support Egypt financially if they have any
future
roles in Erez or during the Rafah operation? Like, during the trip that you traveled with Mr. Blinken
to Egypt, have you discussed any roles from Egypt? Because we see the far-right wing in Israel
accusing Egypt that they are accomplice or, like, they are involved in 7th of October
somehow. Do you agree or disagree with this? And what is the role of Egypt that you see in
the future during the Rafah operation after that? The second question — MR PRICE: First let me – there were, like
,
five questions in that one, so let me — QUESTION: Yeah, there is — MR PRICE: Hold on. Let me answer that
one before you go on to the second one. First, with respect to October 7th, no, of
course there was no Egyptian involvement in October 7th. There’s been no evidence presented
to support that. I will say that we have found Egypt to be a great partner in both getting
humanitarian assistance into Gaza to help innocent civilians there and helping to get
American citizens and others out of
Gaza, including wounded Palestinians who needed to
leave Gaza to seek medical treatment. And we have found them a productive partner in helping
to secure the release of hostages. And of course, they are involved in the ongoing talks to secure
the release of hostages and a humanitarian pause. Now, second – second one. QUESTION: Yeah, last one. Like, we have read
that USA warned Israel or urged Israel to no conduct any big operation during Ramadan.
You know Ramadan is a holy month for Muslim
s, and it’s like now we are less one month to
Ramadan. It’s going to start at March 10th. And do you support, like, this idea that,
like, pausing or, like, not permanent but, like, at least ceasing fire, suspending any
operation during the Ramadan? As you know, it’s, like, holy months for Muslims
and, like, we have 1.4 million in Rafah? MR PRICE: Yeah, I – I don’t want to answer that
question about what may happen a month from now, because before we even get to that we are
trying to achiev
e a humanitarian pause and a release of hostages that would extend for
some time, including through that period. So that is our – that is the goal that
we’re trying to achieve at this point. Jen, go ahead, and then we’ll wrap. QUESTION: Yeah. The Secretary
revealed that he spoke with Paul Whelan yesterday. Do you have
any more details about their call? MR PRICE: Only in that it was I think now the
third – I may have that wrong, maybe. He’s had a number of calls with Paul Whelan, who of cour
se
is speaking from prison. He assured Paul Whelan, as he has in his previous calls, that
we’re with you, we have not forgotten you, we continue to work to try to secure your release,
and we will continue to work to try to secure your release. It is the top priority not just of
the Secretary but of President Biden as well. QUESTION: And can I follow up on
what you told me yesterday about the proposals? Has Russia rejected them
outright, these significant proposals? MR PRICE: The proposal t
hat we – the last
proposal that we spoke about publicly they did not accept. And I think I don’t
want to talk in any further – any — QUESTION: Is there one that
you haven’t spoken about? MR PRICE: I don’t want to – I don’t want
to speak in any further – you should not interpret that one way or the other, but we
decide when we’re going to make things public, and we have not made – given you a further update. QUESTION: A question on — MR PRICE: I’m going to wrap
for today. Thanks, everyone.
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