HomeOffice of the SpokespersonBriefings…Department Press Briefing – February 13, 2024

# 											Department Press Briefing – February 13, 2024									

Matthew Miller, Department Spokesperson

Washington, D.C.

February 13, 2024

## 										Article Index									

              -  SECRETARY BLINKEN’S TRAVEL  UNRWA / HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE  ISRAEL / PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES / REGION  SENEGAL  RUSSIA / UKRAINE / NATO  ARMENIA / AZERBAIJAN  ISRAEL / PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES  NORTH KOREA / CHINA / RUSSIA  IRAN / ISRAEL / PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES  BANGLADESH  AFGHANISTAN  EGYPT / ISRAEL / PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES  RUSSIA      
2:30 p.m. EST

**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 Russia’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 concluded, 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 general 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 conversations 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 that 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 the 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 conduct 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 organization 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, this 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 investigation 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? What’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 supplemental. 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 MILLER:**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 to 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 here. 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 Ashdod 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 families – 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 two 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 publicly 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 findings 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 before 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 reconnaissance 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 want 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 Israelis 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 as 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 one 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 Israel.

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, offer 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 return 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 an 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 continue 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 American 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 there’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 investigated 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 have 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 to 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 last 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, Tawfic 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 some 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 path 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 detained, 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 visa 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 necessarily, 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 another 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 like. 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 systematically 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, North 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 appropriately 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.

**QUESTION:**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 Strip?

**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 transparent. 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, and 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 conference 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 envoy 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 Muslims, 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 achieve 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 course 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 that 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.

(The briefing was concluded at 3:15 p.m.)
    
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