US State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel on Monday denied accusations by Yair Netanyahu, the son of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that it was involved in funding the protests against his government.
”Any notion that we are propping up or supporting these protests or the initiators of them is completely and demonstrably false.”
State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel
“These accusations are completely and demonstrably false,” he said. “The Movement of Quality Government is a[n] NGO, and it received a modest grant from the State Department that was initiated during the previous administration, and the latest disbursal of funds came in September of 2022, prior to the most recent Israeli elections. And this grant supported an educational program for Jerusalem schools that supplemented their civic studies curriculum.”
”Any notion that we are propping up or supporting these protests or the initiators of them is completely and demonstrably false,” Patel added.
Yair Netanyahu's allegations
Last week, Yair Netanyahu alleged that the State Department was responsible for the protests across Israel.
"The American State Department is behind the protests in Israel, with the aim of overthrowing Netanyahu, apparently in order to conclude an agreement with the Iranians. Is there a Shin Bet in this country?" he tweeted.
Netanyahu also shared a tweet by American conservative talk show host Mark Levin claiming that the State Department is attempting to overthrow Netanyahu's government for the benefit of Iran.
“Congress must look into this immediately. State department attempting to topple Netanyahu government probably on behalf of Iran,” the tweet read.
Walla News contributed to this report.