6/21/2024–|Last updated: 6/21/202410:24 PM (Mecca time)
American sources told Al Jazeera that Andrew Miller, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Israeli-Palestinian Affairs, resigned from his position, in the latest episode in a series of resignations from the US administration against the backdrop of its position on the Israeli war on Gaza strip.
The sources said that Miller’s resignation reached the office of Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, and will be effective on June 30
The sources revealed that Miller had been intending to resign for some time due to the US administration’s position on the Gaza war.
The sources told Al Jazeera that what reinforced Miller’s decision was the US administration’s position on the Israeli attack on the city Rafah And its failure to address the position of the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Stubborn.
According to the sources, Miller, the highest-ranking official in American diplomacy in contact with war policy, is resigning from his position.
Miller was hoping for a tangible shift in the president’s administration’s position Joe BidenHe sought to moderate policies from within the government.
According to the sources, Miller presented family reasons justifying his departure from his position and his resignation.
Later, the US State Department spokesman told CNN that the resigned official has deep experience and provides insightful opinions daily to the ministry. The spokesman added, “All employees of the State Department regret Miller’s resignation, and we wish him success.”
Loss to external
Director of Al Jazeera’s Washington office, Abdul Rahim Faqra, said that Miller has a deep understanding and understanding of the Palestinian-Israeli file, and therefore his official withdrawal from the Gaza file and Palestine in general at this time is a new challenge to the US State Department.
Faqra stressed that although there are no official reactions yet, there is a large consensus in the American media that Miller’s resignation represents a major loss for the State Department and for the voices described as balanced and with positive positions on the Palestinian right.
Faqra said that this is the first time in the history of the American administration that differences have become public and have culminated in resignations from several positions.
Fakra explained that the United States is witnessing major divisions that are sometimes described as unprecedented regarding the positions of the American administration and its absolute support for Israel, noting that Miller’s resignation represents a problem for American diplomacy at a time when it is also facing major challenges, most notably the escalation with Netanyahu regarding the supply of weapons to Tel Aviv.
For his part, former US State Department official William Lawrence said that Miller attributed his resignation to family reasons so as not to cause embarrassment to the US State Department, stressing that he is the most important official in following up on the Palestinian issue.
Lawrence confirmed – in an interview with Al Jazeera – that Miller was opposed to what is happening in Gaza and that there are others who will follow suit, considering that these resignations are unusual in the American administration, and at the same time reflect dissatisfaction with the administration’s positions on the war on Gaza.
Previous resignations
- In late May, Alexander Smith, a contractor for the US Agency for International Development (USAID), chose to resign after he was given the choice between being fired after preparing a presentation on maternal and child mortality among Palestinians.
- In another resignation, State Department official from the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, Stacy Gilbert, sent an email to colleagues explaining that she was leaving because of an official department report that Israel had not obstructed food or other aid to Gaza.
- Also on May 8, she resigned Lily GreenbergShe is a Jewish official who served as Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff of the US Department of the Interior, in protest against support for Israel.
- On April 26, the Arabic-speaking spokeswoman for the US State Department, Hala Gharit, announced her resignation. Objection to Washington’s policy towards the war on Gaza, marking at least the third resignation in the ministry due to this issue.
- About a month earlier, Anil Shelin of the State Department’s Human Rights Office announced her resignation, and State Department official Josh Ball also resigned last October.
- Tariq Habash, a senior official in the US Department of Education, an American of Palestinian origin, resigned from his position last January.
A few days ago, the American CNN network said that a group of officials in the Biden administration who resigned due to its handling of the Israeli aggression on Gaza are working together to support the opposition and pressure the government to change its course.
They said that they felt that their views, experiences, and concerns were not taken into account, and that the administration was ignoring the humanitarian losses resulting from the Israeli war. They talked about the administration’s lack of attention to the impact of the war on Washington’s credibility.