According to US media, Mira Resnick, a Jewish diplomat with extensive experience in arms transfers to Israel, has been selected for a new position influencing State Department policy regarding the Israel-Palestine issue.
A US media report citing persons acquainted with the situation claims that the Biden administration has assigned a senior diplomat perceived as an advocate of transferring lethal weapons to Israel to a new role in defining US policy on the Israel-Palestine conflict.
The Huffington Post revealed on Friday that Mira Resnick has replaced Andrew Miller as the deputy assistant secretary for Israeli-Palestinian issues in the State Department’s Middle East office. Miller departed this summer.
The report also stated that opponents of President Joe Biden’s unwavering backing for Israel’s war on Gaza viewed Resnick’s nomination as “alarming” and expressed concern over his appointment among certain foreign policy experts.
Annelle Sheline, a former State Department employee who quit over Biden’s Gaza policy, told Huffington Post that “assigning (Resnick)… reflects a doubling down on the administration’s determination to continue providing unconditional material support for Israel’s genocidal campaign against civilians in Gaza.”
Miller was regarded as someone who was aware of the complexity of the issue and made an effort to oppose the administration’s intention to encourage genocide. However, DAS Resnick will enthusiastically back it,” Sheline continued.
Anadolu questioned the State Department about the rumored appointment, and they responded that they had “no personnel announcements to share.”
As to a report published by The Hill towards the end of the previous year, Resnick was instrumental in the supply of weaponry valued at millions of dollars to Israel and Ukraine during his tenure as the deputy assistant secretary for the Regional Security Bureau of Political-Military Affairs.
The Hill cited Resnick as stating, “I’ve been interested in foreign policy for as long as I can remember.”
“The US-Israel relationship was a private focus in my household because of my Jewish background, but also because we were just a politically aware family,” she stated.
US is Israel’s top arms supplier
Though it has repeatedly rejected UNSC resolutions calling for a ceasefire in Gaza over the past ten months, the Biden administration asserts that it is currently seeking to arrange a ceasefire and hostage swap deal between Israel and Hamas as talks continue in Cairo.
The Biden administration is under fire for arming Israel, which has resulted in over 42,000 Palestinian deaths and close to 100,000 injuries. Ten thousand Palestinians have been taken hostage by Israeli forces, and an additional ten thousand are thought to be buried beneath the debris of demolished structures.
Since last October, about 45 American doctors, surgeons, and nurses have volunteered in Gaza, and they estimate that “already greater than 92,000” people have died as a result of Israel’s genocide. A study that was published in the journal Lancet suggests that the actual death toll from Israel’s war on Gaza may exceed 186,000 due to the cumulative effects of the conflict.
Citing transgressions of international law and human rights, a number of human rights organizations and former State Department employees have urged the Biden administration to halt military exports to Israel.
In response to Israel’s destruction of the southern Gaza city of Rafah, Biden suspended the transfer of 1,800 2,000-pound bombs and 1,700 500-pound bombs to Israel in May.
The State Department approved the purchase of $20 billion worth of fighter jets and other military supplies this month, but the flow of other weapons to Israel persisted.All rights reserved.
Over 70 percent of Israel’s purchases of guns come from the US, making the US by far the country’s largest arms supplier, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Washington provides Israel with an annual military subsidy of $3.8 billion.
Although US officials have declined to confirm this, there is evidence that US-made weaponry were used in multiple Israeli strikes on Gaza that resulted in civilian casualties.
