12 former aides say Biden has prioritized politics over ‘fair policymaking’ on Gaza

Twelve U.S. government employees who resigned in protest of President Biden’s handling of Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip are accusing the administration of prioritizing politics over “fair policymaking,” and offering recommendations to change course. 

The dozen signatories on a joint statement represent a wide spectrum of government staff, including former employees of the State Department, Department of Interior and White House, as well as former military officers. They resigned in protest at different times over the nine months of Israel’s war against Hamas following the U.S.-designated terrorist group’s Oct. 7 attack. 

“Both our individual and common experiences demonstrate an Administration that has prioritized politics over just and fair policymaking; profit over national security; falsehoods over facts; directives over debate; ideology over experience, and special interest over the equal enforcement of the law,” they wrote.

“The impact of these injustices has resulted in tens of thousands of innocent Palestinian lives taken, reflecting a clear picture to the world of whose lives matter, and whose lives simply do not to United States policy makers. As members of the United States Government, each of us witnessed this abrogation of American values, leading us to resign.”

The twelve wrote that they have “grave concerns with current U.S. policy towards the crisis in Gaza, and U.S. policies and practices towards Palestine and Israel more broadly.” 

The statement lays out six policy recommendations for the administration to implement, calling for the U.S. to “faithfully execute the law” related to American weapons deliveries to Israel. 

“The Administration is currently willfully violating multiple U.S. laws and attempting to deny or distort facts, use loopholes, or manipulate processes to ensure a continuous flow of lethal weapons to Israel,” the statement reads.

The signatories call for the U.S. to exert all leverage to bring fighting to a halt, secure the release of Israeli hostages from Hamas and the release of Palestinian minors in Israeli jails; surge humanitarian support to Gaza; support of self-determination for the Palestinian people and “an end to military occupation and settlements, including in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.”

They also call for increased protections for free speech and protests on college campuses; and increased transparency and oversight of U.S. arms transfers. 

The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment.

An administration official noted to The Hill that the joint statement failed to mention Hamas at all, or acknowledge Hamas’s rejections of Biden administration efforts to achieve a cease-fire.

The official also criticized the signatories for failing to acknowledge that Americans are among those held hostage by Hamas, and said that the statement equates the hostages held in Gaza with Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails that “have been arrested by Israel for potential ties to terrorism.”

Among the signatories is Josh Paul, who resigned from the State Department’s Bureau of Political and Military affairs after more than a decade of service in protest over U.S. military support to Israel’s response in Gaza eleven days after the October terrorist attack. 

Paul, in his initial resignation statement, called Hamas’s attack on Israel “a monstrosity of monstrosities.” But added that he believes “to the core of my soul that the response Israel is taking, and with it the American support both for that response, and for the status quo of the occupation, will only lead to more and deeper suffering for both the Israeli and Palestinian people.” 

Other signatories include Maryam Hassanein, a 24-year-old political appointee in the Department of Interior, who resigned on Tuesday, criticizing the administration for breaking trust with the Muslim-American community that she is part of. 

“It was definitely not an impulsive decision by any means,” Hassanein said in a phone call with The Hill on Tuesday. 

“I do still hope that my resignation, future resignations, past resignations, do have an impact on the administration and their decisions and their policy choices.”

Updated at 1:27 p.m.