Resignations Over Gaza War; From London to Washington to Tel Aviv

Alwaght- "I can no longer carry out my duties after learning that this ministry may be involved in war crimes." These were words of a resignation statement by Mark Smith, the British Foreign office diplomat that has recently quitted his post. He said that with Gaza war ongoing, he could not continue his post and he decided to resign after a long period of diplomatic service. He also added that there is no justification for continued British arms sales to Tel Aviv at the same time as the Gaza war, but somehow it continues. Smith also called on other colleagues to follow suit, saying "it was my duty as a public servant to raise the issue."

However, Smith is not the only diplomat or Western official who resigns under the influence of internal conscience and mental pressure due to Israel's war crimes in Gaza. There is a long list of the Western diplomats who during Gaza war resigned in protest to thir countries' support to the genocidal Israeli war on Gaza. This report takes a look at the protest resignations by Western and Israeli diplomats because of Gaza war.

300 discontented employees in British Foreign Office 

A few months ago, a former British aid worker published a classified report, claiming that about 300 employees in the Foreign Office had concerns about British complicity and support for Israel's war in Gaza. At that time, this report received a lot of attention online, and some representatives of the Labor Party demanded that the government reconsider its relationship with Israel, but nothing changed.

The US, the record holder for protest resignations 

At the same time, it seems that given the comprehensive support of the US to Israel in the Gaza war, there is a greater sense of concern among Americans about the possibility of this country's complicity in crimes against Gaza. Actually, many of the Western officials who resigned in protest at the Gaza war in the past few months were American officials. Here is a list:

Director of State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs: Josh Paul was the first American official who resigned a week after start of the Gaza war in October last year in protest at his country's arms supplies to the Israeli regime for use against civilians in Gaza. In his Linkedin, he wrote "I cannot support more US military aid to Israel." Paul described the US government's support for the Israeli regime as a "reckless reaction" based on "intellectual bankruptcy" and added: "I cannot accept continuing to work in a job that contributes to the killing of Palestinian civilians." He added that strong US military aid to the Israeli regime gives Tel Aviv a green light to do whatever it wants against Gaza, regardless of civilian casualties.

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Israeli-Palestinian affairs: Two months ago, American sources reported that Andrew Miller, the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Israeli-Palestinian Affairs, resigned in protest at the biased policies and support of the administration of US President Joe Biden for Tel Aviv in the war against Gaza. The sources held that Miller planned to resign a long time ago due to the stance of the US government regarding the Israeli regime's war on the Gaza Strip, but he hoped that there would be a tangible change in the position of the Biden government regarding this war, and he also tried to adjust the policies within the administration. The sources further said that the Israeli attack on Rafah and the failure of the Biden administration to rein in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end his unilateralism contributed to Miller's decision to resign. Miller was the highest-ranking official in American diplomacy who is resigning from his post in connection with the country's policy regarding Gaza war, said the resources.

Official in the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration: In May, Washington Post reported, citing American officials, that one of the Senior officials of the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, Stacy Gilbert, resigned in protest at the Israeli war on Gaza. In this regard, she told colleagues that the State Department was wrong to conclude Israel had not obstructed aid to Gaza. 

Senior Jewish official of Interior Department: In March, a senior Jewish official at the Interior Department, named Lily Greenberg, resigned in protest at her country's backing for Israeli war on Gaza. This resigned official said that with Joe Biden's continued support for the genocide in Gaza, "I can no longer continue to represent this administration." Stating that the response to the October 7 attack should not be the collective punishment of millions of innocent Palestinians, she said: "President Biden has the power to demand a permanent ceasefire and stop sending weapons to Israel." 

Freign affairs officer at the Office of Near Eastern Affairs in the Department of State’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor: Anelle Sheline, 38, said in a op-ed published by CNN wrote: "Because I cannot serve a government that enables these Israeli killings, I am resigning from my position at the US State Department... Whatever credibility the United States had as an advocate for human rights has almost entirely vanished since the war began."

Arabic-language State Department spokeswoman: Hala Rharrit resigned in April in protest at the US policy concerning Gaza. In a LinkedIn post, she wrote: "In April 2024, after 18 years of distinguished service, I resigned in protest at the American policy in Gaza." Hala was also the deputy director of Dubai Media Hub and had joined the State Department as a political and legal official. 

Senior officer of military: A few months ago, Aljazeera reported that a senior officer of the American army with the rank of major announced his resignation in a letter to his colleagues due to the unconditional support of the US to the Israeli regime. Defense Intelligence Agency named the resigned officer Harrison Mann . 

Waves of resignations in Israel 

The resignations among the officials in protest of the war in Gaza have even spread to Israel, and this discontentment with the war is also witnessed in the occupied territories. Two months ago, Israel's Channel 14 reported a widespread wave of resignations among military commanders and senior officials due to the continuation of the Gaza war.

Israeli Military Intelligence chief Major General Aharon Haliva was the first Israeli official to quit due to the October 7 defeat. Haliva in November talked about the failure of intelligence before the October 7 war and said: "Intelligence and the military failed on October 7 and we must focus on the war." 

Brigadier General Amit Saar, the head of the Military Intelligence Research Department, was among the Israeli officials who took the responsibility for October 7 defeat and resigned. 

Moran Katz was one of the important members of the Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari team. He resigned along with a number of others. 

Richard Hatchet, the foreign service press secretary of the Israeli army, was another man to step down from post. 

In July, too, Shin Bet official in charge of south regions resigned over October 7 failure, according to Channel 12.