‘US Gaza Policy Is a Failure and a Threat to National Security’ – Former US Government Officials

By Palestine Chronicle Staff

“American diplomatic cover and the steady flow of weapons to Israel have ensured our undeniable complicity in the killings and forced starvation of the besieged Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip.”

Twelve former U.S. officials who have resigned in the past nine months said the administration’s Gaza policy “is a failure and a threat to national security.”

In a statement issued Tuesday, the officials said they resigned from their positions due to “serious concerns” about current U.S. policy toward the crisis in the Gaza Strip, as well as U.S. policies and practices toward Palestine and Israel more broadly.

“American diplomatic cover and the continued flow of weapons to Israel have ensured our undeniable complicity in the killings and forced starvation of the besieged Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip,” the statement said.

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“This is not only morally reprehensible and a clear violation of international humanitarian law and U.S. law, but it also undermines America,” the former officials warned.

The statement, signed by four former State Department officials, one from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), three U.S. military officials and four political staffers, said the U.S. credibility had been “deeply undermined” around the world.

“He caused a disaster”

The document said that US policy choices had “created a catastrophe”, pointing to the “catastrophic and rapidly escalating humanitarian crisis” that the Israeli government had “created” for the Palestinian people, “for which the mistakes of the US bureaucracy have been paid for with the blood of innocent men, women and children”.

The former officials also stressed that as part of the crisis, funding had been cut to the “largest provider” of humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip: UNRWA, the UN agency for the Palestinians.

The statement “noted with concern” that U.S. policy for many years, and particularly since October 2023, “has not only contributed to enormous humanitarian harm but also failed when assessed in the context of its stated intentions: to contribute to peace and security for all in the Middle East, and for Israel in particular.”

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Violation of US rights

The officials said it was “abundantly clear” that the administration “is currently deliberately violating many U.S. laws and attempting to deny or distort facts, exploit legal loopholes, or manipulate processes to ensure the continued flow of lethal weapons to Israel.”

“As multiple credible humanitarian organizations have determined, Israel has also arbitrarily blocked and continues to block U.S.-funded humanitarian assistance, which should result in the suspension of security assistance under Section 620I of the Foreign Assistance Act,” the statement read.

The officials called on the U.S. government to “use all necessary and available leverage” to immediately end the conflict and to allocate funds and support necessary to immediately expand humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza and to rebuild the territory.

“We believe that the United States should immediately declare that it will be its policy to support self-determination for the Palestinian people and to end the military occupation and settlements, including in the West Bank and East Jerusalem,” they said.

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“Your voice matters”

They also stressed the “urgent need” to change the organizational culture and structures “that have enabled the current U.S. approach.”

“Your voice matters,” they said, addressing their former colleagues.

“We write to you with the hope that you will use your positions to raise calls for peace and hold your institution accountable for the violence that is rampant in Palestine,” they added.

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Ongoing genocide

Israel, currently on trial at the International Court of Justice for genocide against the Palestinians, has been waging a devastating war in the Gaza Strip since October 7.

According to the Gaza Health Ministry, 37,953 Palestinians have been killed and 87,266 injured. In addition, at least 11,000 people are missing, presumed to have died under the rubble of their homes across the Strip.

Israeli authorities say 1,200 soldiers and civilians died in flooding at the Al-Aqsa Mosque on October 7. Israeli media have published reports suggesting that many Israelis died that day as a result of “friendly fire.”

Palestinian and international organizations say most of those killed and injured are women and children.

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The Israeli war led to a severe famine, mainly in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, which resulted in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.

The Israeli aggression also led to the forcible displacement of nearly two million people from across the Gaza Strip. The vast majority of those displaced were forced to flee the densely populated southern city of Rafah, near the border with Egypt, in the largest mass Palestinian exodus since the Nakba in 1948.

Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began to move from the south to central Gaza, constantly seeking safety.

(Chronicle of Palestine)