Prominent US Republican Sarah Palin (left) on Monday defended her reference to “blood libel” that aroused controversy last week when she used the term to condemn criticism linking her fiery rhetoric to the Arizona shootings. “Blood libel obviously means being falsely accused of having blood on your hands. In this case, that’s exactly what was going on,” Palin told Fox News in her first interview since the controversy erupted over her remarks. Palin’s reference last week to “blood libel,” a false, centuries-old allegation that Jews were killing children to use their blood in religious rituals, launched a new round of criticism of Palin’s rhetoric.