Former State Department official: US ignores Israeli war crimes due to domestic politics

(Patria9 - Concerns over domestic politics lead US officials to deliberately ignore Israeli "war crimes" and suppress dissent over arming the country, a former senior State Department official who resigned in protest told AFP.

Josh Paul caused a stir in Washington when he resigned last month, one of the most prominent protests against US policy within the State Department.

In an interview, he said that while many officials are troubled by the actions of the Israeli military, they turn a blind eye to the rules governing arms transfers, which require consideration of whether US weapons will be used to violate international law. As a former director of congressional and public affairs in the State Department's Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, Paul spent eleven years helping oversee arms transfers to US allies such as Israel.

"It is my opinion that Israel is committing war crimes in its actions in Gaza right now. And that is not just my opinion. I have actually heard from officials across the government, including elected officials at very high levels, who share that opinion but are unwilling to say so publicly," he said.

Nevertheless, the United States continues to deliver weapons "where it was clear, and as we have seen, that they would be used to kill so many civilians," he said.

"Criticism of Israel is often seen as a third rail in American politics, especially in Congress," Paul said.

"And this deters US officials from coming out and saying publicly what they believe privately," he added.

In the past, there was internal State Department debate about transferring US weapons to countries with verified human rights records, including certain Israeli military units, Paul said. But no longer.

"There was no room for any discussion or debate about this concern, as there was in every other issue I had previously been involved in at the Bureau," he said.

"We were just told to deliver the weapons as quickly as possible," he added.

The rules restricting arms transfers are lax, Paul said, leaving room for policymakers, in a "deliberate" manner, to "simply not decide" whether the Israeli military has violated human rights in Gaza. Paul said the levels of division within the US government, including elected officials, are comparable to the tensions before the 2003 invasion of Iraq. But he warned that leaving office is not an option for most civil servants, who cannot risk losing healthcare or salaries.

"There is a risk that it will be a career killer if you resign over this particular issue," he added.