Matthew Miller, a former US State Department spokesman who spent months defending Israel’s actions in the war in Gaza, admitted that Israeli forces committed war crimes “unsuspected” on Palestinian territory.
Miller told the Sky News Trump 100 podcast on Monday that he didn’t think genocide was happening in Gaza.
The former spokesman served as one of the public faces of former President Joe Biden’s solid support for Israel as he killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and flattened most of the enclave.
United Nations experts and major rights groups have accused Israel of genocide.
Miller’s comments raise questions about why the Biden administration continued to arm Israel despite US laws restricting military aid to countries that have committed violations of human rights and international law.
The former US president’s aide repeatedly found that despite ample evidence of documenting Israel’s abuse, he could not conclude that Israel is violating war laws or restricting humanitarian assistance to Palestinians.
At least 54,381 Palestinians were killed and 124,054 were injured, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health. While Israel’s blockade threatens hunger, almost all of the enclave’s 2.3 million people have been evacuated.
Between the State Department, Miller regularly clashed with journalists who questioned the US’s response to Israel’s handling of Gaza, including bombing medical facilities and camps protecting Palestinian civilians.
In one incident last November, Miller was rebuked with laughter in question about Israel blocking aid to Gaza. US law specifically prohibits state security assistance restricting US-assisted humanitarian assistance in conflict zones.
For example, when asked about certain atrocities last year, including the murder of 6-year-old Palestinian girl Hindrajab, Miller would often say that US authorities raised the case along with their Israeli counterparts under investigation.
The spokesman will then continue to call contacts and probes of these allegations to dismiss questions about alleged war crimes by Israel.
On the Sky News podcast, Miller appeared to criticize his own pattern of answering questions when he served as a spokesman. “I know Israel has started investigating, but looking at it, we’ve taken months to investigate them, and we don’t really think the soldiers are accountable,” he said.
In an interview Monday, Miller emphasized that as a spokesman he has not advocated his own opinion and has expressed the official Biden administration stance.
“You are a president, a spokesman for the administration and support the administration’s position,” he said. “And when you’re not in power, you can express your own opinion.”
Asked about his experience with his issue, Miller said there was a “small and large” disagreement within the Biden administration about how to deal with Israel.
“There have been disagreements all along about how we handle policies. Some of them were huge disagreements, some of them were mostly disagreements,” he said.
In particular, he hinted at the tension between Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
He admitted that there was “probably” what the United States could do to put pressure on Israel to prevent the murder of “thousands of innocent civilians who didn’t want this war.”
On Tuesday, Palestinian group Hamas said Miller’s comments further confirmed Israeli crime and highlighted Washington’s “direct responsibility as a true partner” in genocide against Palestinians.
“We call on the international community and the international judicial organisations to turn these dangerous confessions into investigations and immediate legal action,” Hamas said in a statement.
Leeded Jarrah, advocacy director for the US-based advocacy group, said it was “outrageous” that Miller waited until he got to work to admit that Israel had committed a war crime in Gaza.
“The atrocities are committed and US officials who know they’ll protect them from behind the podium are not neutral. They’re conspired. Miller’s silence in government helped Israel with that massacre. He has Palestinian blood in his hands.”
“People who support and bet the genocide should be held responsible by the International Criminal Court or other international mechanisms.”