“America’s diplomatic cover for, and continuous flow of arms to, Israel has ensured our undeniable complicity in the killings and forced starvation of a besieged Palestinian population in Gaza.”
Twelve former US government officials who resigned over the last nine months have said the administration’s policy on Gaza “is a failure and threat to national security.”
In a statement released on Tuesday, the officials said they stepped down from their respective positions due to “grave concerns” with current US policy towards the crisis in Gaza, and US policies and practices towards Palestine and Israel more broadly.
“America’s diplomatic cover for, and continuous flow of arms to, Israel has ensured our undeniable complicity in the killings and forced starvation of a besieged Palestinian population in Gaza,” the statement said.
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“This is not only morally reprehensible and in clear violation of international humanitarian law and US laws, but it has also put a target on America’s back,” warned the former officials.
The statement, signed by four former officials from the State Department, one from the US Agency for International Development (USAID), three from the US military and four political staff, said US credibility has been “deeply undermined” worldwide.
‘Begotten a Disaster’
It said US policy choices “have begotten a disaster” pointing out the “catastrophic and rapidly escalating humanitarian crisis” that the Israeli government “has created” for the Palestinian people, “for whom the missteps of the ink of American bureaucracy has been paid in the blood of innocent men, women, and children.”
The former officials also highlighted the cutting off of funding, as part of the crisis, to “the single largest provider” of humanitarian assistance in Gaza: UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinians.
The statement “noted with concern” that US policy has for many years, but particularly since October 2023, “not only contributed to immense humanitarian harm, but has failed when measured against its own declared intent: to contribute to the peace and safety of all in the Middle East, and particularly that of Israel.”
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Violation of US Laws
The officials said it was “abundantly clear” that the Administration “is currently willfully violating multiple US laws and attempting to deny or distort facts, use loopholes, or manipulate processes to ensure a continuous flow of lethal weapons to Israel.”
“As multiple credible humanitarian aid organizations have identified, Israel has also, and continues to, arbitrarily obstruct US-funded humanitarian assistance, which should trigger a suspension of security assistance under Section 620I of the Foreign Assistance Act,” the statement said.
The officials called on the US government to “use all necessary and available leverage” to bring the conflict to an immediate close, and to commit the funding and support needed for the immediate expansion of humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza, as well as the reconstruction of the territory.
“We believe the United States should immediately announce that the policy of the United States will be to support self-determination for the Palestinian people, and an end to military occupation and settlements, including in the West Bank and East Jerusalem,” they said.
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‘Your Voice Matters’
They also highlighted “an urgent need” for change in the organizational cultures and structures “that have enabled the current US approach.”
“Your voice matters,” they said, addressing former colleagues.
“We write to you with hope that you will use your positions to amplify calls for peace and hold your respective institution accountable to the violence unfolding in Palestine,” they added.
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Ongoing Genocide
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 37,953 Palestinians have been killed, and 87,266 wounded. Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
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