UNITED NATIONS, July 19 (IPS) – The Biden administration, under fire for its unyielding pro-Israel stance on the nine-month war in Gaza, is facing a revolt within its own bureaucratic ranks – and the number has risen to 12.
The 12 recently resigned administration officials accuse the US of providing diplomatic cover for the continued flow of arms to Israel, ensuring “our undeniable complicity in the killings and forced starvation of a besieged Palestinian population in Gaza.”
“Not only is this morally reprehensible and a clear violation of international humanitarian law and US law, it has also put a target on America’s back,” they continued, saying it has endangered the lives of military personnel and diplomats.
Dr. Alon Ben-Meir, a retired professor of international relations, most recently at the Center for Global Affairs at New York University (NYU), who taught courses on international negotiations and Middle East studies, told IPS: “I share the general view of the 12 US government officials who have resigned in protest at the Biden administration’s policies on the war between Israel and Hamas,” they wrote in their joint racktitled Service in Dissent, that “America’s diplomatic cover for, and continued flow of arms to, Israel has ensured our undeniable complicity in the killings and forced starvation of a besieged Palestinian population in Gaza. This is not only morally reprehensible and a clear violation of international humanitarian law and US law, but it has also put a target on America’s back.”
“I have supported Israel’s right to defend itself, as well as the Biden administration’s support for Israel’s war effort. I stand behind the United States’ ironclad commitment to Israel’s security by providing it with all necessary military assistance and political cover.
“I have stated repeatedly that Hamas’s unprecedented attack on October 7, 2023, and Israel’s unprecedented retaliation have reinforced my own view, which I share with many others: that there will be no resolution to the 76-year Israeli-Palestinian conflict without a two-state solution.
“I maintain my position that it will be impossible to return to the status quo that prevailed before October 7, because a new paradigm was created that offered the unprecedented opportunity to resume peace negotiations that could lead to a two-state solution,” said Dr. Ben-Meir.
Meanwhile, there are also negative reactions in European capitals. Last February, the New York Times published an article headlined “U.S., European officials publish letter of protest against Israeli policy.”
According to the Times report, more than 500 officials in the US, Britain and the European Union (EU) have published “public letters of condemnation” of their (respective) governments’ support for Israel in the Gaza war.”
Mouin Rabbani, co-editor of Jadaliyya and non-resident fellow at the Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies (CHS), writes in an op-ed published on IPS channel on July 18 that the letter of censure makes it clear beyond any doubt that US policy in the current crisis has been an abject failure at almost every level.
Not only has it failed to achieve any of its objectives and further consolidate Western hegemony in the Middle East, it has also made the US government directly and actively complicit in the genocide currently before the International Court of Justice in The Hague, he said.
As the signatories note, the US is not only “willfully” violating international law binding on Washington, it is also willfully violating US domestic law in its fanatical determination to continue Israel’s mass atrocities to the bitter end, said Rabbani, who is also a Non-Resident Fellow at Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN).
“Significantly and quite rightly, they also point out that the Biden administration’s determination to stand shoulder to shoulder with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and his far-right, annexationist government has led to the suppression of fundamental constitutional freedoms within the United States,” he stated.
Meanwhile, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned in a speech to the UN Security Council on July 17 that recent developments put a spanner in the works for any prospect of a two-state solution. “The geography of the occupied West Bank is being steadily transformed by Israeli administrative and legal actions. The seizure of large tracts of land in strategic areas and changes in planning, land management and administration are expected to significantly accelerate settlement expansion.” These changes, he pointed out, include the issuance of two military orders in late May. These orders transferred powers to, and appointed, a civilian representative to the Israeli civil administration, which is alarming. This move is another significant step in the ongoing transfer of authority over many aspects of daily life in the occupied West Bank, and a further step toward extending Israeli sovereignty over this occupied territory. If left unchecked, these measures risk causing irreparable damage, he said.
“We must change course. All settlement activity must be halted immediately. Israeli settlements are a flagrant violation of international law and a major obstacle to peace. The violence must stop and the perpetrators of the violence must be brought to justice swiftly. Israel must ensure the safety and security of the Palestinian people,” Guterres declared.
Dr. Ben-Meir continued: “Personally, I was in favor of crippling Hamas militarily. However, I have repeatedly stated that while Israel can crush Hamas militarily, it will not be able to destroy it as a political movement that adheres to a specific ideology that calls for the destruction of Israel.
“However, I have never believed that Hamas will ever be able to wipe out Israel, for many reasons, including the fact that Hamas leaders know all too well that Israel is a formidable military force whose existence is irrevocable. The war has made it clear that challenging Israel’s right to exist is tantamount to suicide.”
President Biden was the first world leader to affirm that, given the new circumstances, a two-state solution is a must to end this endemic conflict.
As the war dragged on, and the death toll and destruction of Palestinians mounted, and Prime Minister Netanyahu categorically refused to even mention a solution along the lines of statehood, the very idea of a two-state solution was removed from Biden’s lexicon. But the flow of arms to Israel, if anything, increased without any conditions.
Moreover, the US vetoed two UN Security Council resolutions calling for a ceasefire, while supplies of food, water, fuel and medicine dwindled and the displacement of Palestinians by the hundreds of thousands continued unabated.
Meanwhile, Israel’s relentless bombardment of US bombs, which killed thousands of people in densely populated areas, made the US complicit in the horrific carnage. More than 37,000 Palestinians have now been killed killedand more than half of Gaza lies in ruins, Dr. Ben-Meir said.
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© Inter Press Service (2024) — All rights reservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service
