ENTRE News – Former spokesperson for the United States (US) Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hala Rharrit, revealed the reasons why she gave up her career as a US diplomat. Rharrit admitted that he felt he was on the wrong side while working as a diplomat. These feelings basically started to flare up when Israel launched its aggression in the Gaza Strip, Palestine.
“Basically I realized that we were on the wrong side of history and we were hurting our interests,” Rharrit said.
Rharrit referred to the US government’s strong support for Israel in its war with the Hamas group. He considers this kind of support to be incorrect, because neither he nor his colleagues ever thought that the Israel-Hamas conflict would kill more than 34 thousand Palestinians.
“We clearly knew there would be a strong reaction (as a result of the Hamas attack on October 7), but I don’t think anyone predicted that the results would kill 34,000 people and cause famine in Gaza,” he said.
Rharrit is the first US diplomat to resign in the midst of the Israel-Hamas war. He has worked at the US Department of State since 2006, and his last position was as Arabic language spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Apart from Rharrit, two other US Foreign Ministry officials also resigned in protest at US policy in Gaza. They are Josh Paul and Annelle Sheline.
When speaking, Rharrit admitted that before this, he had never once thought about resigning from his current position. However, he cannot tolerate US policies regarding the Israel-Hamas conflict. According to Rharrit, there is a “double standard” by the US regarding this conflict. Rhirrait did not explain the form of this double standard policy. He only said that the points of US policy so far were “very far from what people see every day.” The points primarily “focus on domestic US audiences.” Even though they have warned that US policies are inhumane for the Palestinian people, top officials at the US Ministry of Foreign Affairs have muffled and ignored their voices.
“I just responded: You don’t want to work,” said Rharrit.
He also revealed how the US government’s statements and attitudes contradict each other. For example, when the US pressures Israel to protect civilians and allow humanitarian aid to enter. At the same time, the US continues to supply weapons to Israel.
“The idea that we were involved in the killing of civilians is a very difficult and devastating thing for a diplomat to admit,” he explained.
“What do you do with that information if you’re not the one who can change policy?” Rharrit continued.
Rharrit decided to resign as spokesperson for the US Ministry of Foreign Affairs on April 24. The US Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not provide a specific explanation regarding Rharrit’s resignation, saying it was a personal matter. However, US State Department FOR4D deputy spokesman Vedant Patel said that there is a kind of channel in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where staff can share their points of view when they disagree with certain policies or certain actions taken by the US government.
“The secretary reads every cable for dissent and different points of view from across the administration. We continue to welcome them, and we think that helps lead us to even stronger policy,” he said.