Israeli diplomat refutes reports of Gaza starvation in closed address to Arizona Legislature

An Israeli diplomat praised Arizona lawmakers for their support and condemned the international community's lack of outrage at the harm Israel has suffered from the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas.

In a speech punctuated by three standing ovations, Israel Bachar, the country's counsel general for the Pacific Southwest, refuted reports of starvation in Gaza and rebuffed calls for a ceasefire unless Hamas meets certain conditions.

Hamas, which attacked Israeli homes in Gaza on Oct. 7, still holds 144 hostages, Bachar said.

“Where is the outrage?" he asked. "Where is the international community? We will not stop until all of the hostages are home.”

A ceasefire can't happen unless Hamas stops fighting and releases the Israeli hostages, he said, explaining Israel's stance. But that has been rejected even as negotiations continue.

"For Hamas, this isn't about territory, it is about terrorism," Bachar said. "Their goal is the destruction of us as a people.

"Hamas must be eradicated."

That comment brought another standing ovation. It echoed the call at the session's start from Senate President Warren Petersen, R-Gilbert.

Hamas produces nothing and "only destroys, ruins and tears down," Petersen said. "It should be wiped off the face of the earth.”

Petersen and House Speaker Ben Toma, R-Glendale, invited the consul general to address lawmakers and provide an update on the Israel-Hamas war. A majority of the Legislature attended the half-hour session, although many Democrats were not present.

Bachar's visit comes a month after a House delegation visited Israel on a trip sponsored by a pro-Israeli organization.

He thanked Arizona lawmakers for their "moral clarity" on Israel's position and cautioned: "When an enemy tells you they are going to do something, believe them."

He closed his comments with the reminder that "what starts with the Jews doesn't end with the Jews."

Palestinians, supporters criticize GOP leaders for closed session

Outside the House chamber, Palestinians and their supporters criticized Republican legislative leaders for keeping members of the public out of the state House during Bachar's address. Media were allowed to attend and the event was livestreamed on the Legislature's website.

Maher Arekat, a Palestinian refugee who came to the United States with his family in 1970, said at a Capitol news conference he and other Arizonans don’t wish to be “complicit in the genocide of the Palestinian people.”

“Our state lawmakers obstinately ignore us and instead try to cement further ties with a regime that is currently being tried for genocide in the International Court of Justice,” he said.

Arekat, the founder of the Palestinian Community Center of Arizona, urged the public to encourage their elected officials to support a permanent ceasefire by Israel.

Several Democratic lawmakers attended the news conference, including state Sen. Anna Hernandez, D-Phoenix, and Reps. Mariana Sandoval, D-Goodyear, and Betty Villegas, D-Tucson. Rep. Analise Ortiz, D-Phoenix, also showed up but left before the news conference started. The four were among 17 Arizona lawmakers who signed a letter in November accusing Israel of “crimes.”

Hernandez told reporters she disagreed with the decision to close off the meeting with Bachar to members of the public.

“All of our collective constituency deserves access to any meetings of any joint floor sessions that happen on these premises,” she said. “It should be always open to all public, especially when matters are discussed that affect every single person in Arizona.”

Cindy McCain wrong on Palestinian starvation, Israeli official says

In a brief interview after his speech, Bachar doubled down on his argument that there is no starvation in Gaza.

“There are challenges in distribution," he said, saying Hamas disrupts effective distribution of aid. "There is food that gets in.”

He said Cindy McCain, the head of the World Food Programme, was working with limited information when she complained that only nine trucks were able to enter Gaza last weekend.

"We just cannot continue this way, as you know, we know famine is imminent in the north (of Gaza)," she said on Face the Nation last weekend.

"We need our diplomatic groups and our political groups around the world to convince Israel we must get in and we must do it in a sustained and unfettered way," McCain said. "People are going to die otherwise, and they already are dying."

Nearly half the population in Gaza — more than 1 million people — have completely exhausted their food supplies and are grappling with catastrophic hunger, according to the World Food Programme.

Bachar said McCain didn't get the full picture of what happened last weekend.

“She didn’t mention that there were 400 trucks on the border waiting for their international bodies to pull the aid into Gaza," he said.

It shouldn't be hard to get the full picture if people would listen to Israeli officials, he said, adding: "The army will tell you the truth."

The Israeli Defense Forces releases information daily on the aid reaching Gaza, he said.

He acknowledged some pockets of hunger in Gaza, and attributed that to distribution networks disrupted by Hamas.

In a statement in advance of Wednesday's speech, the Council on American-Islamic Relations said lawmakers should be focused on pushing for a ceasefire in Gaza rather than hearing speeches from Israeli diplomats.

"We urgently need a ceasefire resolution to halt the senseless violence and prevent further loss of life," said Azza Abuseif, executive director of the council in Arizona. "It is disheartening to witness the apparent disregard for Palestinian lives displayed by so many lawmakers.”

Reach the reporter at maryjo.pitzl@arizonarepublic.com or at 602-228-7566 and follow her on Threads as well as on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter @maryjpitzl Ray Stern is at rstern@arizonarepublic.com

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Cindy McCain wrong on Palestinian starvation, Israeli official says