A US State Department official, who was working on arms transfer deals to key US allies, announced his resignation from his position, on Wednesday, in protest against the way the administration of President Joe Biden dealt with the Israeli escalation in the Gaza Strip.

Josh Paul, director of public and congressional affairs in the State Department's Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, which handles arms transfers, said he "cannot support further military aid to Israel."

In his resignation, he described the Biden administration's response, and much of Congress' response, as "a knee-jerk reaction based on confirmation bias, political expediency, intellectual bankruptcy, and bureaucratic inertia. That is to say, it is deeply disappointing, and completely unsurprising."

Paul described the Hamas attack on Israel, which resulted in the killing of more than 1,400 people, as “atrocious atrocities,” but added, “But I believe deep down that the response that Israel is taking, along with American support for this response and the current state of the occupation, will only lead to... Greater and deeper suffering for both the Israeli and Palestinian peoples.”

Regarding his motives for making the decision to resign, Paul told Al-Sharq that he did not make this decision except after many discussions and arguments with American officials about the “controversial” arms transfers to Israel, indicating that “he cannot change anything about the matter.” Nor can he “do something effective to improve the results.”

Killing Palestinian civilians

The resignation of the American official is a rare measure to express “internal discomfort” regarding the administration’s strong support for Israel, the United States’ closest ally in the Middle East. More broadly, it represents an unusual public display of opposition within President Biden's foreign policy apparatus, which has worked to prevent such expressions of discontent from emerging, according to the Washington Post.

Paul spent more than 11 years in his position, coordinating relations with Congress and public messaging for an office that deals with military aid.

He wrote in his resignation that he “could not accept continuing” in a job, which he said contributed to “the killing of Palestinian civilians.”

Paul said in an interview with the American website "Huffington Post": "We must certainly point out the horror of what Hamas did and the extent of what happened. Therefore, I fear the size of the potential Israeli response or the ongoing Israeli response."

He added: "I acknowledge the right of the Israeli government to respond and defend itself. But I wonder how many Palestinian children must die in this process."

Absolute support for Israel

Paul considered that the strong American military aid to Israel gives Tel Aviv the green light to do whatever it pleases against Gaza, regardless of civilian losses.

The Israeli government announced that it was planning to destroy Hamas, and asked the residents of the northern Gaza Strip to move south, a request that United Nations observers declared would constitute a “humanitarian catastrophe.”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken spent the past week traveling the Middle East, trying to create regional support for “Israel’s right to defend itself” and avoid a regional war, but also to push Israel to respect humanitarian concerns in Gaza.

Biden, who arrived in Israel on Wednesday, announced that the United States “will stand by your side,” but he urged the Israelis to distinguish between the Palestinians and Hamas, and reduce civilian casualties.

He said, "The vast majority of Palestinians are not from Hamas. The Palestinian people are also suffering greatly."

Source: Al Sharq Channel