Over 800 officials in the US and Europe have signed a statement saying that their governments’ actions in the Israel-Gaza war might break international law.
The “transatlantic statement” says that their governments could be involved in a bad situation, but their advice has not been taken seriously.
This shows that some important countries that are friends with Israel are not happy with its government.
One person who signed the statement is a US government official who has worked in national security for over 25 years. They told the BBC that their concerns are still being ignored.
“The official said that the people who knew the area well were not heard. ”
The big difference here is that we are not just failing to stop something, we are actually helping it happen. “That is very different from any other situation I can remember,” said the official, who didn’t want to share their name.
Civil servants from the US, the EU, and 11 European countries, including the UK, France, and Germany, have signed the statement.
Israel has been using its military in Gaza without limits. This has led to many civilians dying. They have also stopped aid from getting in, which has put many civilians in danger of not having enough food and getting sick.
“Our governments’ actions may be breaking international laws and committing serious crimes like war and genocide,” the statement said.
The names of the people who supported the statement have not been shared with the public. The BBC hasn’t seen a list of names, but they believe that almost half of them are government officials who have been working for at least ten years.
A former US ambassador told the media that it was unusual for civil servants in different governments to work together in this way.
Robert Ford, a former American ambassador to Algeria and Syria, said that he has never seen anything like it in the last 40 years when it comes to foreign policy.
He compared it to worries in the US government in 2003 about wrong information before invading Iraq. But this time, many officials with concerns didn’t want to stay quiet.
“Some people knew that intelligence was being selectively used and that there was no plan for what would happen next, but they didn’t speak up. ” “He said it was a big problem,”
He said the problems with the Gaza war are very serious and have serious consequences, which is why they feel the need to make it public.
The leaders are saying that their government’s help for Israel could cause more Palestinians to die and put the lives of hostages and Israel’s safety at risk. They believe that the support should have some conditions and be held accountable. This could also cause problems in the region.
“Israel’s military actions are not using the important anti-terrorism knowledge they have learned since 9/11. The operation is not helping Israel to defeat Hamas and is actually making groups like Hamas and Hezbollah more popular. ”
The officials say they have talked about their worries at work, but their opinions were ignored because of politics and beliefs.
The US government, the European Union, and the UK government have been asked to share their thoughts on the matter.
The statement says that Israel’s attack on Gaza has caused a lot of damage, but there is no plan to get rid of Hamas or to find a long-term solution for Israel’s safety. The US and European governments are being asked to stop telling people that there is a good reason for the Israeli operation.
Israeli leaders always say no to that kind of criticism. The Israeli embassy in London said it had to follow international law because of the new statement.
Israel is still fighting against a terrorist group that is trying to kill a whole race of people. This group is doing very bad things in war and against innocent people.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says we need to use strong military force on Hamas to get more hostages released. The army also destroyed important places used by Hamas, like command centers, weapons areas, and places where they keep hostages.
On Saturday, the Israeli army said they killed more than 2,000 terrorists in Khan Yunis, both above and below the ground.
Israel keeps saying it doesn’t try to hurt regular people on purpose. They say that Hamas is using civilian places to hide.
Since the war began, more than 26,750 Palestinians have been killed and at least 65,000 injured, according to health officials in the Gaza Strip. Gaza has been ruled by Hamas and blocked off by Israel and Egypt since 2007.
Israeli officials say that 9,000 of the people who were killed were members of Hamas, but they have not shown proof for this claim. Israeli officials say that more than 1,200 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas attacks on October 7th, and another 100 died from their injuries. Over 250 people were captured and taken to Gaza.
The US government has said many times that too many Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, and Israel has the right to make sure that something like October 7th never happens again.
It has started being more strict about some things the Israeli government is doing, like speaking out more about not stopping settlers from being violent in the West Bank. On Thursday, President Biden said the first US penalties ever against settlers who hurt Palestinians.
The Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, has tried to talk to the people in the State Department about their concerns about US policy. He told them in November that he is listening to what they have to say and it’s influencing the decisions they make and the things they say.
During the Vietnam War, the department created a way for diplomats to share their disagreements with US positions without being punished. It was called a “dissent channel. ”
In the most recent statement, the most people who signed are working in EU offices, the Netherlands and the US. Many of the people who signed are believed to work for the State Department, with others working at the White House, Homeland Security, Justice, and other government departments.
The media has said that some UK Foreign Office workers are disagreeing about how the civilian deaths in Gaza are being shown.
It is known that in the past, the staff counsellors in the Foreign Office collected internal worries. But now, people are unhappy because there is no official way to share their concerns about the Israel-Hamas war.