Biden’s militaristic policy in Gaza is a failure — diplomacy is the solution

Diplomacy, not more arms, is needed to reach a ceasefire in Gaza, free the hostages and address the underlying causes of this historic conflict.  

Israel cannot bomb or starve its way to security, and the United States must stop enabling this failed and inhumane strategy. As you read this, over 2 million men, women and children in Gaza are still getting bombarded, suffering from starvation, dehydration and constant displacement, with over 100,000 killed or injured — and our tax money continues to pay for it.

After more than 200 days following Hamas’s terrible Oct. 7 terrorist attacks, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s incessant bombing campaign has failed to bring the hostages home or make Israelis safer, prompting protests from within Israel against his hawkish right-wing government.  

Enough is enough.  

The administration needs to wake up, realize that this militaristic strategy is an abhorrent failure and change course immediately, for the sake of Israelis and Palestinians alike. Maintaining a devastating onslaught on a besieged civilian population is not only a violation of international law, but also counterproductive. Instead of eroding Hamas, it is emboldening extremism on all sides and undermining America globally. 

I proudly served in the State Department for 18 years, representing America in postings around the world. It was an honor to advance U.S. interests on a range of issues, including political and economic affairs, human rights and countering terrorism finance. I have deep experience in Middle East affairs, having studied, lived and served throughout the region, including in Yemen, Qatar and Egypt.

Throughout my career, I strove to strengthen ties between the United States and other countries, to promote America and help Americans. It was thus with great heartache that I decided to submit my resignation to the State Department, as President Biden’s catastrophic Gaza policy made it impossible to continue to do my job effectively.  

I could not and would not in good conscience advance measures that are hurting America, violating U.S. and international law, and ensuring a vicious and destabilizing cycle of violence in the Middle East for generations to come. Now, with Netanyahu’s threat of a Rafah invasion looming, which would result in a humanitarian disaster of epic proportions, actionable change — not just spins on rhetoric — is required. 

The United States must cut and condition military aid to Israel in line with U.S. laws such as Leahy Vetting, the Arms Export Control Act and the Foreign Assistance Act. This would force compromise and ensure a ceasefire and an actual flow of humanitarian aid that will save lives. The United States would regain significant credibility, enabling Secretary Antony Blinken to work with Arab states to pressure Hamas to release the hostages and permanently lay down arms. This would also ease tensions and stabilize the region.  

With a sustained ceasefire, commitments to a two-state solution need to take priority. Palestinian statehood and self-determination must be achieved to ensure lasting peace for both peoples.  

A diplomatic solution is long overdue. We must immediately stop enabling Israel’s war crimes through unconditional military support and cease obstructing accountability through political cover. This has made us complicit and has eroded the United States’s image and standing throughout the Arab world and beyond.  

From mass killings of over 30,000 Palestinians, 14,000 of whom are children, collective punishment of an entire population, large-scale destruction of infrastructure including housing, schools and hospitals to make the strip uninhabitable, restriction of medicine, food and water leading to deaths from starvation and disease, killing of aid workers, journalists and health care professionals — these are morally indefensible and undeniable violations of international law.

It is neither permissible nor effective to collectively punish an entire population to go after a terrorist organization. This is also undeniably unleashing enduring trauma that could result in a cycle of revenge and violence for generations, hurting all sides involved. Many American diplomats know this and are frustrated by our government’s continued unconditional military support to Israel. But they can do little about it. 

Indeed, there is an aura of fear and unease among American diplomats — one that I have never experienced before. Colleagues are scared to speak to one another about what is happening in Gaza, concerned about retribution and impacts on their careers. As a spokesperson for the Middle East and North Africa media markets, I raised concerns about interviews promoting our Gaza policy and ultimately stood down on media requests. Not because I personally disagreed, but because I was monitoring, documenting and reporting the negative impact our talking points and policy were having on the United States regionally. 

Despite being silenced and sidelined for speaking out, for months I stressed to Washington that the U.S. position and our messaging on Gaza is inflaming the situation in the Arab world, engendering significant backlash against America and Americans, and that we desperately need to change course.  

I warned based on analysis of pan-Arab traditional and social media that people throughout the region see through our talking points — they hear the double standard that strongly condemns attacks on Israel yet shows concern only when Israel massacres innocent Palestinians. They also know full well that despite mass civilian casualties, the U.S. willfully sends more offensive weapons to the Israeli military. They realize that U.S. airdrops are meant to appease critics rather than actually alleviate mass starvation. And they hear our deafening silence on the killings of Gazan journalists while we preach the importance of press freedom.  

Many of us in the State Department who worked to strengthen ties between the Arab world and the United States over the past decades stood horrified, recognizing and warning that this is significantly setting back and undermining efforts across the region. Still, the department did not change course and continues to insist on the promotion of this catastrophic policy throughout the MENA region, refusing to take into account the growing anti-Americanism it is unleashing.  

My role as a U.S. spokesperson in the Arab world was always challenging but also rewarding. Over the past seven months, however, it became impossible. As the months went by, and the horrors in Gaza continued unabated, it became clear to me that despite efforts I made or other colleagues exerted from “the inside,” the policy was not shifting, to the detriment of Palestinians, Israelis and our own national security interests. This was demoralizing, and made me feel, for the first time in my diplomatic career, utterly hopeless. 

Based on countless internal conversations, I eventually came to the devastating realization that even our most senior career foreign service officers are merely implementers, not formulators, of our policy — at least in the Middle East. Staying on the inside to propagate this policy felt like I was hurting my country more than helping it. I thus made the painful decision to submit my resignation.  

My hope is that all these resignations, global peaceful protests and calls for a ceasefire from practically every major international humanitarian organization are a wakeup call for the administration. President Biden, Secretary Blinken: Change course now, implement U.S. and international law. You do not want Gaza to be your legacy. 

Hala Rharrit served as a distinguished foreign service officer for 18 years in multiple postings around the world, including political/economic chief at the U.S. Consulate in Durban, South Africa; political/economic section deputy chief at the U.S. Embassy in Doha, Qatar; and most recently as regional spokesperson for the Middle East and North Africa. She has received multiple State Department awards for her impactful diplomatic work, and speaks French, Arabic and English.