A US State Department official has resigned in protest of Washington’s plan to increase military aid to Israel, claiming that the Gaza conflict would cause additional misery for both Israelis and Palestinians.
In a memo posted online on Wednesday, Josh Paul, a director in the State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, said that President Joe Biden’s administration was making the same errors that Washington has been doing for decades.
“I fear we are repeating the same mistakes we have made these past decades, and I decline to be a part of it for longer,” Paul said, claiming that the Biden administration’s “blind support for one side” was leading to policy decisions that were “shortsighted, destructive, unjust and contradictory to the very values we publicly espouse”.
“I am leaving today because I believe that in our current course with regards to the continued – indeed, expanded and expedited – provision of lethal arms to Israel I have reached the end of that bargain,” he said.
In an interview with The New York Times, Paul also stated that “continuing to give Israel carte blanche to kill a generation of enemies, only to create a new generation, does not ultimately serve the interests of the United States.”
“The problem with all of those provisions is that it rests on the executive branch making a determination that human rights violations have occurred,” Paul said. “The decision to make a determination doesn’t rest with some nonpartisan academic entity, and there’s no incentive for the president to actually determine anything.”
Since Hamas murdered more than 1,400 people and kidnapped close to 200 others in an attack earlier this month, Mr. Biden has strongly embraced Israel, and his administration is reportedly putting together a proposal for $14 billion in primarily military aid. However, Mr. Biden cautioned Israelis not to give in to “an all-consuming rage” that may push the nation too far in reaction during his visit to Tel Aviv on Wednesday. His administration has also encouraged Israel to reduce civilian fatalities.
