Hala Rharrit Resigns as Arabic Spokesperson for US State Department over Gaza Policy – Third Resignation on Issue

Hala Gharit, Arabic spokesperson for the US State Department, resigned in opposition to Washington’s policy regarding the war in Gaza, in at least the third resignation from the ministry on this issue.

And look website According to the ministry, Hala was also the Deputy Director of the Regional Media Center in Dubai and joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs about two decades ago as a political and human rights officer.

Hala wrote on the social networking site LinkedIn, “I resigned in April 2024, after 18 years of distinguished service, in protest against the US policy in Gaza.”

When asked about his resignation at a press conference on Thursday, a Foreign Office spokesman said the ministry has channels for its staff to express their views when they are not agree with government policies.

About a month earlier, Anil Shielen of the State Department’s Bureau of Human Rights announced her resignation, and State Department official Josh Paul also resigned in October.

Tareq Habash, a senior official at the US Department of Education, who is an American of Palestinian descent, resigned in January.

The United States has come under growing international criticism and from human rights groups over its support for Israel in the ongoing Israeli attack on Gaza, which has killed thousands and created a humanitarian crisis.

There have been reports of signs of dissent in President Joe Biden’s administration as war deaths continue to rise.

In November, more than 1,000 officials at the US Agency for International Development, part of the State Department, signed an open letter calling for an immediate ceasefire. Telegrams criticizing the administration’s policy were sent to an “opposition channel” within the State Department.

The war also led to heated rhetoric and anti-war protests throughout the United States, Israel’s most important ally.

Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people, according to Israeli statistics. Israel killed more than 34,000 people in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip, leading to displacement, starvation and accusations of genocide that Israel denies.