WASHINGTON: The resignation of a US State Department official this week stemmed from an administration report. The report falsely claimed Israel wasn’t impeding humanitarian aid to Gaza, prompting her protest resignation.
Stacy Gilbert, who served in the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, was a subject matter expert working on the report.
“There is so clearly a right and wrong, and what is in that report is wrong,” Gilbert said in an interview.
The United Nations and aid groups have long complained of the dangers and obstacles to getting aid in and distributing it throughout Gaza.
As the Palestinian death toll in Gaza has exceeded 36,000 and a humanitarian crisis has engulfed the enclave, human rights groups and other critics have faulted the US for providing weapons to Israel and largely defending Israel’s conduct.
The State Department submitted the 46-page unclassified report earlier this month to Congress as required under a new National Security Memorandum that Biden issued in early February.
Among other conclusions, the report said that in the period after Oct. 7 Israel “did not fully cooperate” with US and other efforts to get humanitarian aid into Gaza.
But it said this did not amount to a breach of a US law that blocks the provision of arms to countries that restrict US humanitarian aid.
In light of the State Department resignation, questions arise about the future of US diplomatic relations. Furthermore, it prompts a critical examination of the processes involved in producing and disseminating government reports. Transitioning from resignation to repercussions, the event emphasizes the significance of upholding truth and accountability in international affairs.
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