US diplomat QUITS her post after 18-year career to protest Biden's continued support for Israel and claims others in State Department are fearful of publicly expressing views

A veteran US diplomat has quit her post after an 18-year-career in protest of Biden's unwavering support for Israel as she claims that others within the State Department are fearful of publicly expressing their views regarding the war in Gaza.

The Arabic language spokesperson of the US State Department and one of the most recognized faces of US diplomacy for Arab media, Hala Rharrit, resigned over Washington's Gaza war policy, in the third resignation from the department since the war began.

Rharrit uploaded her resignation on her personal LinkedIn, stating: 'I resigned April 2024 after 18 years of distinguished service in opposition to the United States' Gaza policy.'

After almost seven months into the Biden administration's unstinting support for Israel in it's bloody war against Hamas, Rharrit became the first career diplomat to resign in protest of a policy that she believes will set back Washington's interests on the Arab world for a generation.

The former deputy director of the Dubai Media Hub revealed she felt that the continual flow of US weapons into Israel was enabling and making worse the devastating humanitarian crisis that is sweeping Gaza, reported the Washington Post.

Hala Rharrit, the former Arabic language spokesperson of the US State Department, resigned in protest of Biden's unwavering support of Israel after an 18-year-long career

US  President Joe Biden, left, meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, to discuss the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023

Rharrit revealed she felt that the continual flow of US weapons into Israel was enabling and making worse the devastating humanitarian crisis that is sweeping Gaza. Pictured: Rafah, Gaza, May 1, Palestinians, including children, collect remaining belongings from the rubble of destroyed houses after Israeli attacks on the house

The destruction caused by the Israeli attacks on Gaza is viewed from the Nir Am region in southern Israel, on May 01, 2024

Within the State Department, she explained how other diplomats are now afraid to show support towards the war-torn city, or express viewpoints in contrast to official policy - unlike most other issues within her career where she had been encouraged to thoroughly discuss and debate.

She also added that some of her former colleagues are fearful of being targeted, and even disciplined, by the State Department for sharing views that may go against US policy.

'People are scared to talk to each other. People don't know how other people feel. So they try to assess, you know, how are you feeling? People are scared to mention Gaza at work. They just want to pretend it's not happening,' she told The Post. 

Since October, Rharrit had refused to give Arab media interviews concerning Gaza as she felt the 'provocative' talking points would worsen the situation, than calm it. 

'They oftentimes completely ignored Palestinians. Early on, it was very, very heavy on 'Israel has a right to defend itself.' Yes, Israel has a right to defend itself, but there was no mention of the plight of the Palestinians,' she said.

'I, in good conscience, could not go on Arab television with those talking points. All that that would have done is have caused someone to want to throw their shoe at the TV, want to burn an American flag or, worse, throw a rocket at our troops.'

'I said, 'I will not be the reason why someone hates America more,' she added.

Speaking to NPR, Rharrit claimed she was reprimanded for her decision.

'I was accused of having misconduct, that it was a conduct issue, that I was refusing to do my job. I was told get back on air or curtail or resign. Curtail means cut your assignment short. Or resign - I mean, I was given an ultimatum,' she said.

The former diplomat also chillingly shared her fears about how some day, children have been left orphaned by the war may eventually 'pick up a gun and seek revenge', claiming the West is enabling and encouraging a generational cycle of revenge that will not ensure the safety of Israelis.

A view of damage in Khan Yunis of Gaza after Israeli attacks, on April 30, 2024. The streets and alleys in city, in the southern Gaza Strip, are unrecognizable after Israel withdrew, leaving behind devastation

Since October, Rharrit had refused to give Arab media interviews concerning Gaza as she felt the 'provocative' talking points would worsen the situation, than calm it. Pictured: Palestinians, including children, collect remaining belongings from the rubble of destroyed houses after Israeli attacks in Rafah, Gaza, on May 1, 2024

Weeks of Israeli attacks turned the buildings in the city into rubble

Before resigning, Rharrit, who joined the State Department as a political and human rights officer, admitted she focused on other aspects of her job including monitoring Arabic media channels to report internally about their coverage of the ongoing conflict and US policy.  

She told NPR that if she had the opportunity to speak directly to Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, she would urge him to stop the violence and unconditional military support. 

'Just think about the 20,000 orphans in Gaza. How are they going to grow up wanting peace? How will they not each want to pick up a gun and avenge the killing of their parents? This vicious cycle is only enabling more insecurity, more hate, more destabilization,' she said.

'The answer is not more bombs. The answer is diplomacy. The answer is us leveraging our influence on Israel, working with our regional partners across the Arab world to put pressure on Hamas to get to a Palestinian state living side by side with Israel, which is a two-state solution that the US has long supported. 

'Arms and bombs are not going to achieve that, only diplomacy will'.

In response to inquiries about the resignation, a State Department spokesperson informed Reuters yesterday that the department offers channels for its personnel to express differing viewpoints regarding government policies.

Members of the NYPD surround and breach Hamilton Hall where demonstrators barricaded themselves inside on the Columbia University campus on April 30

Counter-protesters stand near an encampment of protesters in support of Palestinians in Gaza on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Los Angeles, May 1, 2024

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators engulfed in tear gas regroup and rebuild the barricade surrounding the encampment set up on the campus of UCLA

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks to families and supporters of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza during a protest calling for their return, after meeting families of hostages in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, May 1, 2024

'There are channels through which our workforce can share their points of view when they disagree with a certain policy or a certain action that the US government is taking,' said Vedant Patel, deputy State Department spokesman.

He added that dissenting opinions 'help lead to stronger, more robust policymaking.'

'Ultimately, anybody's decision on whether they want to continue to repeat, remain employed somewhere or not, that is ultimately a decision for them to make.'

Rharrit's resignations come after, Annelle Sheline, a foreign affairs officer in the State Department's human rights bureau, stepped down in protest over the Biden administration's support for Israel in late March, saying it had made her job promoting human rights 'almost impossible'.

Earlier, veteran State Department official Josh Paul, a former director overseeing US arms transfers, resigned over Biden's 'destructive, unjust' supply of arms to Israel just days after the war on Gaza began.

And in January, a senior Palestinian-American official in the US Education Department, Tariq Habash, resigned from his post, saying he could no longer 'stay silent as this administration turns a blind eye to the atrocities committed against innocent Palestinian lives.'

Despite mounting international criticism of Israel's offensive that has killed over 34,000 Palestinians, and even the criticism from centrist Democrats, the Biden Administration has continued to provide its ally with a steady stream of weapons.  

On Wednesday, the US Senate joined the House of Representatives in passing an aid bill that is set to provide $26billion in aid for Israel and Palestine, with $4billion set aside to replenish Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system (pictured)

Last week, the White House was reportedly considering an additional $1billion weapons deal with the country while centrist Democrats have discussed cutting off military aid unless Israeli behavior changes.

Several senior US officials have also condemned strikes that have killed aid workers, children and other civilians. 

On Wednesday, the US Senate joined the House of Representatives in passing an aid bill that is set to provide $26billion in aid for Israel and Palestine, with $4billion set aside to replenish Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system, and $9billion for humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in Gaza.

The ongoing conflict has also sparked widespread anti-war demonstrations across the United States, with  university campuses across the country being ravaged by protests. 

And though Blinken is in the Middle East seeking to broker a ceasefire and increase the flow of humanitarian aid into the Palestinian territory, Israeli leaders have declared they plan to invade the southern city of Rafah no matter what — a decision Biden and other top officials fear could be disastrous.