Israel has the “right to defend itself” against aggression, US government says

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – Following a barrage of rockets directed at Israeli towns from the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, the United States government said Thursday that Israel has a right to defend itself against sustained attacks from Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad militants and the Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah terror group, the Times of Israel reports.

The US position stands in contrast to the statement made Saturday by the UN special rapporteur for the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, Francesca Albanese, who said Israel has a right to self-defense – but “can’t claim it when it comes to the people it oppresses/whose lands it colonizes.”

Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system intercepted 25 rockets from among dozens fired toward northern Israel from Lebanon on Thursday, TOI reports. Three people were injured during the barrage, Israeli officials said. This salvo had followed rockets fired by Palestinian Islamic Jihadists from Hamas-ruled Gaza.

In a statement to reporters Thursday, US State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said:“We condemn the launch of rockets from Lebanon and Gaza. Our commitment to Israel’s security is ironclad. We recognize Israel’s legitimate right to defend itself against all forms of aggression.”

The Times of Israel was also informed by a source that the US government blocked the UN Security Council from issuing a statement on the recent spike in violence so as not to allow an equivalency to be drawn between Israel’s actions and the activities of Islamic terror groups.

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