Administration officials say they do not take the deaths of Palestinians lightly and that they have worked around the clock to try to get more humanitarian aid into Gaza. White House officials have also pointed to an ongoing pause in fighting, which was extended on Thursday, as proof that their diplomatic efforts have helped secure the release of dozens of hostages held by Hamas and opened the door to more humanitarian assistance for the beleaguered Palestinian population of Gaza.
‘A policy that has not led to peace’
So far, only one employee at the State Department has resigned over the issue, according to the department.
Josh Paul, the former head of the department’s political-military affairs bureau, resigned in protest in October, saying he could not abide by America giving weapons to Israel without stricter conditions.
“On Oct. 18, I resigned from the State Department because I could not support the provision of U.S. weapons into the conflict in Gaza, where I knew that they would be used to kill thousands of civilians,” Paul wrote in an op-ed in The New York Times. “I saw no willingness to re-evaluate a long-term policy that has not led to peace and has actually undermined both regional stability and Israeli security.”
Since 1970, the State Department has had an official mechanism for diplomats to formally express their disagreement with a policy, known as the “dissent channel.” But that channel is strictly confidential, and foreign service officers are not supposed to share the details of their dissent publicly.
At least three dissent cables have been submitted to State Department leadership, according to two U.S. officials.
The State Department and USAID say they are aware some employees have misgivings about administration policies on the Israel-Hamas war and have written to their workforces encouraging a “candid” exchange.
“We’ve organized forums in Washington to hear from you, and urged managers and teams to have candid discussions at posts around the world precisely so we can hear your feedback and ideas,” Blinken said in an internal letter to employees earlier this month. “I’ve asked our senior leadership to keep doing that. We’re listening: what you share is informing our policy and our messages.”
The American Foreign Service Association, the union for the State Department’s diplomatic corps, said it was “heartened” by how the administration has responded to the internal dissent.
“We know that there has been some concern with current policy, in particular by members of Arab American and Muslim American employee organizations at the State Department and elsewhere,” said the association’s president, Tom Yazdgerdi.
“We know that these employee groups met with Secretary Blinken and other members of leadership at State. That is crucial because dissenting views especially need to be heard and we hope they are taken into consideration,” he said.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
