(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . More resignations from Biden Administration over Gaza policy [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-06-07 On Thursday, May 30, the Guardian reported that two more US officials have resigned over the Biden Administration’s Gaza policy. Alexander Smith, a contractor for the US Agency for International Development (USAID), said he was given a choice between resignation and dismissal after preparing a presentation on maternal and child mortality among Palestinians, which was cancelled by USAID shortly before it was due to be delivered last week. Smith, a senior adviser on gender, maternal health, child health, and nutrition chose to resign on Monday, May 27, after four years at USAID. His presentation had been cleared for publication by the conference organizers, but when it came to the attention of USAID’s Middle East section on 20 May, Smith was asked to make redactions. He said those edits included removing a slide outlining applicable international humanitarian law, and any language implying recognition of a Palestinian state, including references to agencies which have Palestine in their title, like the UN Family Planning Association (UNFPA) Palestine. In Smith’s resignation letter to Samantha Power, the head of USAID, he wrote about the “inconsistencies in USAID’s approach to different countries and humanitarian crises, and the general treatment of Palestinians.” He explained: I cannot do my job in an environment in which specific people cannot be acknowledged as fully human, or where gender and human rights principles apply to some, but not to others, depending on their race. USAID has always prided itself on our programs supporting democracy, human rights, and rule of law…. When it comes to the Palestinians, however, we avoid saying anything about their right to statehood, the abuses they’re currently suffering, or which powers have been violating their basic rights to freedom, self-determination, livelihoods, and clean water. The second official to resign last week was Stacy Gilbert, a senior State Department official in the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration. She notified colleagues on May 28 that she was leaving because of “an official finding by the department” that Israel was not deliberately obstructing the flow of food or other aid into Gaza. The Guardian continues: According to the Washington Post, Gilbert took issue in particular with a formal State Department report to Congress on 10 May, noting that Israel “did not fully cooperate” in the first months of the Gaza war but that it had “significantly increased humanitarian access” more recently. In fact, after a spike in humanitarian deliveries in late April and early May, they have fallen to near zero in the weeks since. The Guardian points out that “only a trickle of humanitarian assistance” has arrived through land crossings controlled by Israel, and a US-made pier intended to deliver aid was severely damaged by a storm. The Guardian says “Smith and Gilbert bring the total number of Biden administration officials to have publicly resigned over US policy on Gaza to nine.” It also quotes Josh Paul, who resigned in October 2023 after 11 years of service in the State Department. The first official to resign publicly, Paul says that “at least two dozen more have left quietly, without a public declaration” and “there are other resignations pending in the near future from officials with similar concerns in their own areas of work.” Regarding Rafah, the Guardian says Netanyahu and “his war cabinet” have “defied Biden” in the offensive on Gaza’s southernmost city where over a million Gazans sought refuge from the Israeli assault. More than 900,000 of them have been forced to flee from the bombing once more in recent weeks. The Guardian says Biden threatened to cut off the supply of arms for use in any Rafah offensive, but that has not happened because the assault on the city has not been a major operation involving a large number of troops. However, the Guardian quotes Samantha Power that the Israeli assault has been as catastrophic as if it was a major offensive. “Despite currently more limited military operations around Rafah and the Egypt/Gaza border, the catastrophic consequences that we have long warned about are becoming a reality,” Power said on May 29. She added that according to USAID’s partners in the region, “conditions are worse now than at any period before.” Power has been more critical of Israel than other members of the administration, but Smith argues she should be going much further and calling out war crimes. He says: Even if you’re responding to an attack, or under any circumstances, it is never legal to starve a civilian population. Everybody at the State Department knows, and Samantha Power knows that. She has written three books about genocide and other development issues. The Guardian reports that since the beginning of the Gaza war in October, the US has announced some $180 million in aid for Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, while annual US military aid to Israel is more than $3.3 billion. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/6/7/2245239/-More-resignations-from-Biden-Administration-over-Gaza-policy?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/