Washington, November 14 (RHC)-- U.S. State Department diplomats have sharply criticized President Joe Biden for “spreading misinformation” about Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip. The diplomats compiled a scathing internal memo that casts light on growing fury within the administration over the president’s support for Israel.
Obtained by Politico, the five-page text says despite the fact that Israel is committing “war crimes” in Gaza, the Biden administration has “doubled down on our unwavering military assistance to [Israel] without clear or actionable redlines.”
The document, signed by 100 State Department and US Agency for International Development employees, has two key requests: Biden should support a ceasefire in Gaza; and publicly denounce the regime’s brutal war.
The authors of the memo, two diplomats who have worked in West Asia, said: “Strongly recommend that the (US government) advocate for the release of hostages by both Hamas and (Israel),” citing the “thousands” of Palestinians being held in Israel, including those “without charge.”
“We must publicly criticize Israel’s violations of international norms such as failure to limit offensive operations to legitimate military targets,” said the document. It said Israel has proceeded to cut off electricity and aid to Gaza, which “all constitute war crimes and/or crimes against humanity under international law.”
“Yet we have failed to reassess our posture towards Israel.”
More than five weeks into the war, Joe Biden, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and others have ruled out demanding a halt to the relentless air and ground strikes in one of the most densely populated places in the world.
Israel has so far killed more than 11,000 Palestinians, a substantial number of whom women and children.
The memo said the U.S. “tolerance” for such a high civilian death toll “engenders doubt in the rules-based international order that we have long championed.” It also criticized Biden for questioning of the death toll in Gaza, referring to his late October statement where he said he had “no confidence” in the figures provided by the health ministry in Gaza.
