Former US officials who resigned from President Joe Biden’s administration over its support for Israel in the Gaza war have released their first joint statement laying out how catastrophic the policies have been for the Palestinians, for Israel’s long-term interests, and for America’s national security.
“Alone, we each made the somber and difficult decision to resign based on the individual circumstances we encountered at different times during these past nine months as we performed our specific jobs. But today we stand united in a shared belief that it is our collective responsibility to speak up,” the joint statement from 12 former US officials said.
They have accused the US president of turning a blind eye to Israeli atrocities in the Palestinian enclave.
The Biden administration denies this, pointing to its criticism of civilian casualties in Gaza and its efforts to boost humanitarian aid to the enclave, where health officials say nearly 38,000 have been killed in Israel’s assault.
Israel launched its offensive in Gaza after the Iran-backed Hamas militants stormed into an Israeli border town on Oct. 7, killing around 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages, according to Israeli figures.
The joint statement, released on Tuesday, provides a combined perspective from the former officials of wrongdoings in the besieged Gaza Strip, along with six recommendations to fix things.
The officials include Mohammed Abu Hashem, Lily Greenberg Call, Anna Del Castillo, Stacy Gilbert, Tariq Habash, Maryam Hassanein, Maj Riley Livermore, MAJ Harrison Mann, Josh Paul, Hala Rharrit, Annelle Sheline and Alexander Smith.
The statement said: “The [Biden] Administration’s policy in Gaza is a failure and a threat to US national security. America’s diplomatic cover for, and continuous flow of arms to, Israel has endured our undeniable complicity in the killings and forced starvation of a besieged Palestinian population in Gaza.”
“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.”
The joint statement also laid out six recommendations to change US policy towards the nearly nine-month-long war in Gaza.
They include “faithfully” executing the law, using all necessary and available leverage to bring the conflict to an immediate close and achieve the release of all hostages – Israelis and Palestinians alike, committing funding and support to expand the humanitarian assistance in Gaza, supporting “self-determination” of the Palestinian people and ending military occupation and settlements, including in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The recommendations also suggested a change in the organizational structures and cultures “that have enabled the current US approach,” and highlighted the threat to freedom of speech referring to the militarized police response to campus protests across the US.
