US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken
Middle East
We flash to the staff of the US State Department: we believe in the Palestinian management of Gaza and its unification with the West Bank
CNN said on Monday that the US Secretary of State admitted there were differences within the ministry over President Joe Biden’s administration’s approach to the war between Israel and Hamas.
CNN quoted Blinken in an email to State Department employees, a copy of which the US Network has seen: “Some department employees may disagree with the approach we are taking or have opinions about it that can be improved.”
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He added: “Many Palestinian civilians have died, and much more can and should be done to reduce their suffering.” He continued, “We believe in a Palestinian-led administration in Gaza and its unification with the West Bank.” She added: “The reconstruction of Gaza must be supported by a sustainable mechanism.”
In this context, the website “Axios” revealed on Monday the details of an internal memorandum signed by employees of the US State Department calling on the administration of President Joe Biden to change its policy regarding the war between Israel and Hamas, and they claim Israel is committing “war crimes.”
Axios said the five-page memo, signed by about 100 State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) employees, calls on senior officials to reevaluate their policy toward Israel and calls for a cease-and-desist fire in Gaza.
Without providing a specific example, the note accuses Biden of “spreading disinformation in his October 10 speech” and also criticizes him for “casting doubt on the death toll” of the war in Gaza. The US president said on October 27 that he “does not trust” the numbers provided by the Ministry of Health in Gaza, but he also said he was “sure that innocent people were killed there”.
The employees “strongly recommended that (the US administration) seek the release of hostages held by Hamas and (Israel),” referring to “thousands” of Palestinians detained in Israel, including those who have not been charged.”
Axios says that while the memo begins by referring to “recent atrocities” committed by Hamas in its attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and triggered the war, it focuses on the Israeli response to the attack.
The memorandum states, according to Axios, that the measures taken by Israel following the attack, including cutting electricity, limiting aid and launching attacks that led to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, “constitute all war crimes and/or crimes against humanity under international law.”