Biden has not seen or confirmed 'beheaded children' reports: WH

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
12 Oct 2023 07:27
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The White House says the US President based his remarks on statements from the spokesperson of the Israeli occupation PM and Israeli media.

US President Joe Biden delivers remarks on hidden junk fees during an event in the Rose Garden of the White House, Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023, in Washington. (AP)

The White House clarified that US President Joe Biden and other American officials have neither witnessed nor independently confirmed that Palestinian Resistance fighters beheaded Israeli children, hours after Biden blindly adopted the false Israeli claims that were widely circulated by Western media in an attempt to defame and satanize the Resistance.

The White House statement comes after Biden told Jewish leaders at the White House, "It is important for Americans to see what is happening. I have been doing this for a long time. I never thought that I would see, have confirmed pictures of terrorists beheading children."

According to a White House spokesperson, the US President based his remarks on statements from the spokesperson of Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as Israeli media.

Israeli commentator Barak Ravid also wrote on X that a senior US official told him that "in his comments the President [Biden] was referring to Israeli public reports."

A senior U.S. official told me that in his comments the President was referring to Israeli public reports https://t.co/C0w3iTPUry
— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) October 11, 2023

It is noteworthy that the false claims about Palestinian Resistance fighters allegedly killing and beheading babies were issued by an Israeli occupation reserve soldier named David Ben Zion, who The Grayzone news website earlier identified as an extremist settler leader who had previously incited riots by calling for the Palestinian town of Huwara to be "wiped out".

According to The Grayzone, Ben Zion, the key source behind the false claim, serves as the Deputy Commander of Unit 71 in the Israeli occupation army.

"We walked door to door, we killed a lot of terrorists. They are very bad. They cut heads of children, they cut heads of women," Ben Zion told Israeli i24 reporter Nicole Zedek in an interview on October 10, also referring to Palestinians as "animals".

Oddly, in a video posted on his Facebook account, Ben Zion could be seen smiling in "Kfar Azza", where he claimed to witness the alleged killings of the babies.

Using the speculative verbs of "believe" and "told me", Zedek indicated hours later, "Soldiers told me they believe 40 babies/children were killed."

Although the Israeli occupation military spokesperson denied information regarding "Hamas beheading babies," the unverified claims reached top-level leadership, with Netanyahu's spokesperson and Biden marginally alluding to the reports of babies and toddlers' "heads decapitated".

Soldiers told me they believe 40 babies/children were killed. The exact death toll is still unknown as the military continues to go house to house and find more Israeli casualties. https://t.co/PEGSFXgb9x
— Nicole Zedeck (@Nicole_Zedek) October 10, 2023

Biden still failed to mention that the Israeli occupation was brutally killing Palestinian civilians, using white phosphorus, and bombing religious sites and schools where people typically seek refuge in times of war.

In the same context, some reporters who initially supported the Israeli allegations began reporting on their own observations that showed otherwise.

Oren Ziv, an Israeli reporter who was present during the Israeli occupation military's official tour in "Kfar Azza", posted on X that "during the tour, we didn’t see any evidence of this, and the army spokesperson or commanders also didn’t mention any such incidents."

Ziv pointed out that "during the tour, journalists were allowed to speak to the hundreds of soldiers on site, without the supervision of the army's spokesperson team," which made it easy for Ben Zion to make such fabrications against Palestinian Resistance fighters.

He also added that some Israeli occupation soldiers he spoke to in "Kfar Azza" didn't mention "beheaded babies".

1/5 I'm getting a lot of question about the reports of "Hamas beheaded babies” that were published after the media tour in the village. During the tour we didn’t see any evidence of this, and the army spokesperson or commanders also didn’t mention any such incidents. pic.twitter.com/qN4XZmlGAP
— Oren Ziv (@OrenZiv_) October 11, 2023

The Grayzone noted that David Ben Zion is a leader of 35 illegal West Bank settlements under the so-called Shomron Regional Council.

He previously called for the Palestinian village of Huwara to be "wiped out".

Ben Zion was quoted by Israeli media as saying that "the village of Huwara should be wiped out, this place is a nest of terror and the punishment should be for everyone," in reference to the whole Palestinian people.

Deputy mayor of Samaria region:

"Here in Hawara the blood of our children was spilled on the road...
Hawara needs to be wiped out today.
Enough talk about building and strengthening the settlements. The deterrence that was lost must return now, there's no room for mercy." pic.twitter.com/6l1cEEbCI5
— Judah Ari Gross (@JudahAriGross) February 26, 2023

Elsewhere, The Grayzone report mentioned that Ben Zion had repeatedly called for war crimes and the "deportation of the [Palestinian] masses," characterizing in 2016 the Palestinian people as enemies with a "barbaric DNA."