'Profiting from war': Diplomat Hala Rharrit blasts Biden's Gaza war policy

Hala Rharrit, ex-US State Department official who recently made headlines by becoming the first Foggy Bottom diplomat to publicly resign over Biden administration's policies over Israel's "genocidal" war in besieged Gaza, has said that White House's Middle East policy is a failure, which is helping "neither Palestinians nor Israelis."

"I could no longer be a part of the State Department and promote this policy. It's an inhumane policy. It's a failed policy that is helping neither Palestinians nor Israelis," Rharrit said in an interview to the US news programme Democracy Now.

Serving as the spokesperson for the State Department, Rharrit found herself at a moral crossroads, unable to reconcile her conscience with the policies she was tasked to promote.

"We are not authorised to send military equipment, weapons to countries that commit human rights abuses. ICJ has determined plausible genocide [in Gaza], yet we are still sending billions upon billions of not just defensive weaponry, but offensive weaponry. It is tantamount to a violation of domestic law. Many diplomats know it. Many diplomats are scared to say it," Rharrit said.

She added, "I read the talking points that we were supposed to promote on Arab media. A lot of them were dehumanising to Palestinians."

Rharrit went on to say that she was concerned about the influence of special interest and lobbying groups on US foreign policy and Congress and on the people who decide whether or not some of those shipments of arms get sent.

"The bottom line is that our politicians should not be profiting from war. And unfortunately, we have some institutionalised corruption that enables that," she noted.

End to carnage in Gaza

Rharrit's departure from the State Department marked a significant moment in diplomatic circles, as she became the first career US diplomat to resign over the administration's stance on Israel's war on Gaza which has killed at least 34,622 Palestinians — 70 percent of them babies, children and women — and wounded over 77,867 while some 10,000+ are feared buried under debris of annihilated buildings.

Her stand brought attention to the deep divisions within American society regarding the issue and ignited discussions about the ethical responsibilities of diplomats in promoting policies that may contradict their moral compass.

Remarking on the ongoing pan-America Student Spring protests, Rharrit said, "There is so much community in these [student] protests with Jewish students protesting with Muslim students and agnostics...it doesn't really matter. Everyone was unified in calling for an end to the carnage [in Gaza]."

"To suppress it in such a violent manner is horrific."