35K martyrs later, US insists 'Israel' not committing genocide in Gaza

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
14 May 2024 00:14
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The White House rejects claims of genocide in Gaza despite a death toll of over 35,000 Palestinian martyrs and hides behind the claim that the definition of genocide requires intent.

White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan briefs reporters at the White House, on May 13, 2024. (AP)

White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan proclaimed, on Monday, that the United States does not believe that "Israel" is committing genocide in the Gaza Strip.

Moreover, Sullivan lifted all responsibility off of Tel Aviv by once again arguing that, despite the continued Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip by Israeli war jets and the multiple attempted incursions into different areas across the Strip, he still insisted that Hamas is the side that must release Israeli captives for a ceasefire to occur.

The world should be calling on Hamas to return to the negotiating table and accept a deal, Sullivan said, although it was "Israel" that sabotaged the latest deal that Hamas agreed to.

To claim neutrality, Sullivan was compelled to note that "we believe Israel can and must do more to ensure the protection and wellbeing of innocent civilians," however, he then insisted, "We do not believe what is happening in Gaza is a genocide. We have been firmly on record rejecting that proposition," although 35,091 Palestinians were killed and 78,827 others were injured since October 7.

According to Sullivan, the US was "using the internationally accepted term for genocide, which includes a focus on intent" to reach this conclusion, which, according to him, "Israel" does not have.

Moreover, the White House National Security Advisor noted that US President Joe Biden believed any Rafah operation "has got to be connected to a strategic endgame that also answered the question, 'what comes next?'"

Sullivan explained that this would prevent Israel from "getting mired in a counterinsurgency campaign that never ends, and ultimately saps Israel's strength and vitality."

Regarding the humanitarian aid convoys being attacked by Israeli settlers, Sullivant said, "It is a total outrage that there are people who are attacking and looting these conveys," adding, "It is completely and utterly unacceptable behavior."

US Army officer resigns over 'unconditional support' to 'Israel'

Despite Sullivan denying "Israel's" perpetuation of war crimes in the Gaza Strip, the resignation of multiple US officials due to top-level officials' unconditional support to the Israeli regime draws a starker picture.

Just earlier, an Army officer assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency resigned in protest over the US support for "Israel", which, according to him, had “enabled and empowered” the killing of Palestinian civilians.

Major Harrison Mann announced his resignation and explained his reasons for leaving the service in a post on LinkedIn on Monday.

"The past months have presented us with the most horrific and heartbreaking images imaginable — sometimes playing on the news in our own spaces — and I have been unable to ignore the connection between those images and my duties here. This caused me incredible shame and guilt," Major Harrison Mann wrote in the post,

According to his resignation letter, which he posted on his personal LinkedIn account, on Monday, Mann resigned in protest of the unconditional US support to "Israel" resulting in the ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip.

Mann is not foreign to the US policies in the Middle East, for his biography indicates that he has focused on the Middle East and Africa for approximately half of his 13-year career and noted that he has previously worked at the US Embassy in Tunis.

Moreover, Mann's letter read, "The policy that has never been far from my mind for the past six months is the nearly unqualified support for the government of Israel, which has enabled and empowered the killing and starvation of tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians," adding that "this unconditional support also encourages reckless escalation that risks wider war."

Significantly, Mann also stated in the letter that he had previously emailed his comments to colleagues on April 16.

Mann stated that earlier, he had persisted in performing his responsibilities at the Defense Intelligence Agency without raising his concerns, anticipating that the war would conclude soon.

"I told myself my individual contribution was minimal, and that if I didn’t do my job, someone else would, so why cause a stir for nothing?" he wrote, adding, "My work here — however administrative or marginal it appeared — has unquestionably contributed to that support."

The Major then asserted that "at some point — whatever the justification — you’re either advancing a policy that enables the mass starvation of children, or you’re not."

"I know that I did, in my small way, wittingly advance that policy," the resignation letter read, stressing, "And I want to clarify that as the descendant of European Jews, I was raised in a particularly unforgiving moral environment when it came to the topic of bearing responsibility for ethnic cleansing."

He mentioned that he had intended to depart from the Army "at some point," but due to the Gaza war, he submitted his resignation on November 1 and left his assignment at the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) prematurely. The timeline for his separation from the Army remains uncertain.

Mann is not the only one that resigned, as in October, Josh Paul, a State Department official in the bureau overseeing arms transfers, resigned in objection to the administration's choice to persist in sending weapons to "Israel".

The US State Department witnessed yet another resignation announced on March 29 as a result of US President Joe Biden’s “horrific policy” toward "Israel", which is enabling “a genocide in Gaza.”

Dr. Annelle Sheline's resignation from the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor marks the most notable departure from the department since Josh Paul, a senior official in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, called it quits.

Hala Rharrit, who had been a foreign service officer for more than 18 years, resigned just last month, saying, "We have no ground to stand on anymore," adding that the US efforts to stop the Israeli war on Gaza were a "failed policy".

Tariq Habash, a former policy advisor who resigned in January, further stated that anonymous letters urging Biden to shift his "Israel" policy "were not enough anymore" and called on other officials to resign, whether publicly or not.

There is also Aaron Bushnell, the US Airman who set himself on fire in protest of the US role and policy in Gaza. Subsequently, in a vigil for Bushnell, a number of US veterans burned their uniform in protest of US policies in the Gaza Strip and the government's unconditional support for "Israel".