Israel’s Gaza Policy ‘Turned America On Its Back,’ Former US Officials Say

Photo Title, On Tuesday, displaced people in the Gaza Strip

Author, Tom Bateman
Role, State Department Correspondent
Reporting from Washington
6 minutes ago

Twelve former Biden administration officials who resigned over Israel policy and the Gaza war say the administration’s actions threaten U.S. national security.

The policy has further destabilized the region and “put America in the crosshairs,” the joint statement said.

One of the 12 members resigned from his job at the U.S. Department of the Interior only on Tuesday.

The U.S. State Department has previously denied the accusations, citing criticism of civilian casualties in Gaza and efforts to increase humanitarian aid.

A joint statement by the former officials said: “American diplomatic cover and the steady flow of weapons to Israel ensured our undeniable complicity in the killings and enforced starvation of the besieged Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip.”

This is not the first such statement by former officials, but it comes alongside the recent resignation from the administration of Maryam Hassanein, a special assistant at the U.S. Department of the Interior. She also signed that statement.

The former officials accuse the US government of clinging to a “failed policy” that has not only been devastating for the Palestinian people but has also endangered Israelis, curbed freedom of speech and undermined the credibility of the US regarding its commitment to a rules-based international order.

The joint statement said ongoing arms transfers to Israel, despite Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip, further destabilize the Middle East and “put America in the crosshairs.”

“Our country’s political and economic interests across the region have also been significantly damaged, and the credibility of the United States around the world has been severely damaged at a time when we need it most and the world is experiencing a new era of strategic competition,” the statement reads.

Other signatories include Josh Paul, who oversaw Congress’s coverage of arms transfers. He resigned in October.

The statement was also signed by a former White House official, two former Department of the Air Force employees and a former Defense Intelligence Agency officer.

The State Department has been approached for comment. It has previously said it encourages diverse policy views and that staff can express them through “appropriate channels.”

A State Department spokesman said in April that the United States “has made clear to Israel at the highest levels, publicly and privately, that it must comply with international humanitarian law.”

The Israeli military has launched a campaign to destroy the Gaza Strip’s ruling Hamas group in response to an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, that left some 1,200 people dead and 251 taken hostage.

More than 37,900 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip since then, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.