Occasionally in everyday life, we encounter a situation that logicians call the “law of non-contradiction” – where we are faced with two contradictory propositions, both of which cannot be true. This was the case recently regarding statements made about the current state of affairs in the Middle East war and the Israeli invasion of Gaza.

Democrat Chris Van Hollen, the junior senator from Maryland, accused Israel of a “textbook war crime.” On the Senate floor, minutes before voting for an aid bill of $14 billion for Israel to fight Hamas (which also includes $61 billion for Ukraine), he said,  “’I want that (the alleged war crimes) to sink in. Kids in Gaza are now dying from the deliberate withholding of food…in addition to the horror of that news, one other thing is true. That is a war crime. It is a textbook war crime. And that makes those who orchestrate it war criminals.”

War crimes are about as serious an accusation as you can level, and despite his vote for more aid to Israel, Sen. Van Hollen’s further remarks leave little doubt he believes the blame lies with Israel and the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).

The problem arises in trying to reconcile his remarks with those of Israeli Government spokesman Eylon Levy in a press conference the next day about the current situation.