12 American officials who resigned from their posts in connection with US policy in the Gaza Strip issued a joint statement calling on the administration to change its approach to resolving the Middle East conflict.
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“The (US) administration’s policies in Gaza are a failure and a threat to US national security. America’s diplomatic cover-up and its continued supply of arms to Israel have ensured our undeniable complicity in the murder and forced starvation of the Palestinian people in Gaza,” the document says, whose authors left their posts within the last nine months due to serious concerns about current US policy regarding the Gaza crisis, as well as US policy towards Palestine and Israel more broadly.
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The actions of the American administration, according to the authors of the letter, caused significant damage to the political and economic interests of the United States in the region and undermined the country’s authority throughout the world. Moreover, US policy has failed to achieve its stated goals: it has emboldened extremists, failed to improve security for Israelis, and has been disastrous for the Palestinian people.
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The authors of the letter offer six recommendations to the administration to correct the situation: conscientious implementation of the law, the use of all levers of pressure to end the conflict and the release of hostages, the allocation of funding to expand humanitarian assistance to the population of Gaza, a declaration of the direction of US policy to support the self-determination of the Palestinian people and an end to military occupation and the development of illegal Israeli settlements, including in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, as well as changing the organizational culture and structure that led to the current approach of the US administration, and ensuring freedom of speech for protesters in colleges and universities.
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In conclusion, the authors of the letter called on their colleagues who continue to work in the administration to express their opinions and use their positions to achieve peace in the Gaza Strip.
