The US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Palestinian-Israeli Affairs resigned, dissatisfied with US policy toward Israel

On June 21 local time, CCTV reporters learned that three people familiar with the matter said that Andrew Miller, the U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Palestinian-Israeli Affairs, resigned due to family responsibilities.

△ Andrew Miller, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Palestinian-Israeli Affairs

Miller believes the Biden administration’s strategy toward the Israeli government is risky and has been skeptical, according to people familiar with the matter.

Previously, several US officials have resigned due to dissatisfaction with the way the US government handled this round of Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Unsatisfied with US policy toward Israel, US military intelligence officer resigns

Harrison Mann, a former official of the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency and Army Major, said in an open letter on the 13th that he resigned in November last year to protest the U.S. support for Israel's military operations in the Gaza Strip, which caused civilian casualties.

Harrison Mann wrote in the letter that his Defense Intelligence Agency's Office of Analysis not only provides policy information, but also promotes policy formulation and sometimes even directly implements policies. The horrific and heartbreaking scenes he saw in the Gaza Strip in the past few months made him feel extremely ashamed and guilty about his work.

He said that in the past six months, the policy that has been lingering in his mind is the almost unconditional support of the United States for the Israeli government, which has led to the killing or starvation of tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians. This unconditional support from the United States has also contributed to the escalation of the situation and increased the risk of a larger war.

Harrison Mann said that as a descendant of European Jews, he was taught from childhood that ethnic cleansing should never happen again. He wrote that when he realized that he had violated his principles, he was disturbed and had no reason to remain silent.

Several US officials have resigned over US policy toward Israel

Previously, several US officials have resigned due to dissatisfaction with the US government's handling of the current round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict. On the 25th of last month, Hala Lalit, the Arabic spokesperson for the US State Department, announced her resignation. She said that she did not want to resign, but had to do so in order to speak the truth freely.

Hala Lalit, former Arabic spokesperson for the U.S. State Department: I have been working in diplomacy for 18 years, and I never thought about resigning before. But as the days passed, human rights violations occurred again and again, which finally prompted me to make up my mind to leave. Because only after I leave, I can speak the truth freely. The truth is that this is a violation of American law and a violation of international law. For example, the video of children being killed that has been widely circulated on the Internet. These casualties should be attributed to the United States. This military policy has failed. It has not achieved any goals in the Gaza Strip, but has only caused suffering to the Palestinian people. In the long run, it has also brought suffering to Israel, not any security, but conflicts for generations.

Unable to tolerate US arms supply to Israel, US State Department official resigns

On March 27, a U.S. State Department official named Anelle Shelain published a long article on the CNN website announcing her resignation. Shelane bluntly stated that she resigned because she could no longer tolerate the US government's support for Israel in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Anelle Shelain said in the article that Israel's killing of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank can already be called "genocide", and all of this was carried out with the diplomatic and military support of the US government.

Resigned official: The credibility of the US as a so-called "human rights advocate" has collapsed

Before his resignation, Schelline was a foreign affairs officer in the Office of Near Eastern Affairs in the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, which was responsible for “promoting human rights in Middle Eastern countries.” Shelain said that since the outbreak of the new round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict, she found that the credibility of the United States as a so-called "human rights advocate" has almost completely collapsed.

Annelle Shelain: It's understandable that social organizations and individuals who advocate for human rights no longer want to have anything to do with the U.S. government. In addition, it's become very difficult to raise human rights issues with other governments, because they will immediately retort, "Given everything you support in Gaza, how can you lecture us on human rights?"

Shelain also said that the Biden administration's behavior of providing weapons to Israel is completely contrary to its own self-proclaimed identity as an "arms supplier that values ​​protecting civilians from harm."

U.S. State Department Spokesperson: Any objections can be reported to higher authorities, but supplying weapons to Israel is not negotiable

On March 27, U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller responded to a reporter’s question regarding the resignation of Annelle Shelain, saying that there are indeed widely different views within the U.S. State Department regarding U.S. policy toward Israel. Staff of the U.S. State Department Objections can be raised publicly with superiors through various channels. But regarding the calls from many officials, including Shelane, for the U.S. government to stop providing weapons to Israel, Matthew Miller called this a "fundamental disagreement."

Matthew Miller, spokesman for the U.S. State Department: Whenever someone says in an interview that we want the United States to stop supporting Israel's right to self-defense, the U.S. Secretary of State disagrees, the U.S. President disagrees. They are the ones who are ultimately responsible for making the decision.

Since the outbreak of this round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict, many US government officials have resigned

Annelle Shelain is not the first US government official to express dissatisfaction with the US government's policies or even resign after the outbreak of the new round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict. In early January this year, Tariq Habash, a policy adviser to the US Department of Education, announced his resignation, citing dissatisfaction with the US government's response to the current round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict, including providing military assistance to Israel. In his resignation letter, he wrote, "I cannot remain silent as this administration turns a blind eye to the atrocities against innocent Palestinians."

On the same day that Habash announced his resignation, 17 staff members of Biden's re-election campaign anonymously published an open letter urging Biden to call for a ceasefire and an end to the war in the Gaza Strip. In November last year, thousands of employees of the U.S. Department of State’s Agency for International Development issued a joint open letter urging the U.S. government to call for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. In October last year, senior US State Department official Josh Paul announced his resignation in protest of the US government's "blind support" for Israel.

In addition, in February this year, Aaron Bushnell, an active duty member of the U.S. Air Force, set himself on fire in front of the Israeli Embassy in the United States to protest the large number of Palestinian civilian casualties caused by Israel's military operations in the Gaza Strip. Bushnell later died after resuscitation failed.