State Department official resigns over weapons shipments to Israel

A State Department official that oversaw arms transfers to foreign powers resigned Wednesday over the Biden administration’s handling of the conflict between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza.

Josh Paul, who worked for the department for more than a decade, said in a letter that he was leaving his position because the harm caused by the “provision of lethal arms to Israel” outweighed the good he could do in his role.

Paul said the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs — where he served as director of congressional and public affairs — could “still do an immense amount of good,” and that American assistance is still needed around the world.

But, he said, “we cannot be both against occupation, and for it.”

“We cannot be both for freedom, and against it,” Paul added. “And we cannot be for a better world, while contributing to one that is materially worse.”

The former official condemned the Oct. 7 surprise attack by Hamas on Israel that sparked the war, calling it “a monstrosity of monstrosities.”

Paul said the response taken by Israel, fueled by American support, “will only lead to more and deeper suffering for both the Israeli and Palestinian people.”

The U.S. has provided “critical assets” to Israel, including emergency munitions to help the country with its counterattack.

Paul said the response by the Biden administration and many lawmakers is disappointing and unsurprising. He added that he is worried the U.S. is making the same mistakes “we have made these past decades” and that he no longer wants to be a part of it.

“It is my firm belief that in such conflicts, for those of us who are third parties, the side we must pick is not that of one of the combatants, but that of the people caught in the middle, and that of the generations yet to come,” Paul wrote in his letter. “It is our responsibility to help the warring parties build a better world.”

He said he is heartened by President Biden’s announcement of a $100 million humanitarian aid package for civilians in Gaza. The aid package, announced by Biden during his trip to Tel Aviv, was approved by Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and will rely on working with Egypt to deliver trucks of food, water and medicine to the region.

Airstrikes from Israel have hit Gaza, including in areas declared as “safe zones.” More than 1 million Palestinians, roughly half of Gaza’s population, have been forced to flee areas in the north after Israel told them to evacuate.

More than 3,785 people in Palestine have been killed and nearly 12,500 more have been wounded in the conflict, the Gaza Health Ministry announced Thursday. Hamas’s initial attack killed than 1,400 people in Israel.

Netanyahu’s main message for Hamas is that the more than 200 Israeli hostages taken into Gaza must be returned.