"Opposition to Indiscriminate Israeli Arms Support" US State Department Employee Resigns

"Not the State Department I Knew" Strong Criticism
Biden Administration Emphasizing Humanitarianism Faces Setbacks

A senior U.S. State Department official has resigned in protest against indiscriminate arms support to Israel, sparking controversy both inside and outside the United States. The Biden administration, which has emphasized humanitarian principles in international relations, is facing heavy criticism for providing unconditional arms support to Israel despite the increasing civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip.

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On the 24th (local time), Josh Paul, former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Political-Military Affairs at the U.S. State Department, wrote in an op-ed for the Washington Post (WP) that "U.S. military support to Israel is being carried out indiscriminately, omitting the moral debate over the potential for civilian casualties," and strongly criticized that "the U.S. Congress, which previously blocked arms sales to regimes that violate human rights, is now pressuring to meet Israel's demands for weapons support."

Since resigning on the 18th in opposition to uncritical arms support to Israel, he has criticized the U.S. government and Congress for hastily handling arms support to Israel. He stated, "Having been responsible for arms supplies to foreign governments at the State Department for over 10 years, I have never seen such a rush to provide arms without moral debate until this month," and emphasized that he resigned because he received clear instructions to fulfill Israel's demands for arms support, which he could not accept.

He added, "Earlier this year, the Biden administration established a principle of not approving support if conventional weapons were likely to be used for human rights violations," and pointed out, "The U.S. weapons provided to Israel, especially air-to-ground weapons, clearly pose risks of harming civilians and violating human rights, but no debate on these risks was allowed."

He also criticized that the weapons supported by the U.S. have not contributed much to peace in Israel and the Middle East. He explained, "Since the Oslo Accords (1993), the basic premise of U.S. military support to Israel has been 'security for peace,' but recent U.S. support has not contributed to peace in the Middle East," adding, "The annual multi-billion-dollar U.S. arms support to Israel was promoted under the idea that it would make Israel feel secure and thus more willing to make concessions allowing the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, but the results have been different from expectations."

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