US State Department official resigns over Biden administration’s handling of Israel-Gaza conflict
A State Department official has resigned from the agency over the Biden administration’s approach to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Gaza, the official announced on LinkedIn on Wednesday.
Josh Ball — who says he has worked in the Politico-Military Affairs (PM) office for more than 11 years — said in a LinkedIn post that he resigned “due to policy differences regarding our continued lethal aid to Israel.”
“Let me be clear,” Paul wrote. “The Hamas attack on Israel is not just monstrosity; it is the monstrosity of monstrosity. I believe the possible escalation by groups like Hezbollah or Irane, linked to Iran, would be a new cynical exploitation of the existing. Tragically, the response Israel is giving and the accompanying American support for both that response and the level of aggression, I believe in the core of my soul that it will lead to deeper suffering for the Israeli people and the Palestinians, and is not in the long-term American interest.
The official described the administration’s response as “disappointing” and “not surprising”.
“The response of this administration — and much of Congress — has been an impulsive reaction built on confirmation bias, political expediency, intellectual bankruptcy, and bureaucratic inertia,” Paul adds. “Decades of the same approach have shown that security for peace does not lead to security or peace. The reality is that blind support for one side can be destructive to the interests of the people of both sides in the long run,” he said.
Paul vowed that he would not work to support political decisions involving the export of weapons that he considers “short-sighted, destructive, unjustified and contrary to the values we publicly defend.”
In an interview with the New York Times, the former State Department official said legal sanctions to keep US arms out of the hands of human rights abusers are failing, as the US supports Israel while the country cuts off its water supply. Food, medicine and electricity in Gaza.
“At one point you could say, ‘It’s out of my hands,’ but I know Congress will resist,” he told the Times. “But in this case, there was no significant reaction from Congress, no other oversight mechanism, no other forum for discussion, and that’s part of what influenced my decision-making.”
A State Department spokeswoman contacted for comment told CNN that the agency declines to comment on “labor matters.”
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