‘No concern for Palestinian suffering’: Ex-official slams US’s Gaza policy | Israel-Palestine conflict News

Former State Department official Mike Casey says the US government is pursuing Israel’s interests over its own.

Mike Casey says he has never seen anything like it.

In fact, the former States Department official — who served as a deputy political counsellor at the United States Office of Palestinian Affairs — described his experience as a diplomat in Jerusalem as a humiliation.

“It’s frankly embarrassing … to see just the way we give in to the demands of the Israeli government and continue to support what the Israeli government is doing even though we know it’s wrong,” Casey told Al Jazeera.

“And I’ve not seen that in any other country that I’ve served in.”

After four years in his post, Casey resigned in July over what he described as the US government’s unwavering support for Israel despite its devastating military campaign in the Gaza Strip.

His resignation — first reported by The Guardian newspaper this week — is the latest by a US official angered over President Joe Biden’s staunch military and diplomatic backing for Israel since the Gaza war began in October 2023.

To date, more than 45,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s continued attacks on the coastal enclave.

The conflict has plunged Gaza into a dire humanitarian crisis, and United Nations experts and leading human rights groups have accused the Israeli military of committing war crimes, including genocide.

The US has said it is working to secure a ceasefire and the release of captives held in Gaza. It also said it has pushed Israel to minimise civilian casualties in its military operations.

But Biden has refused to use American assistance to Israel as leverage to end the war, rebuffing calls to suspend US weapons transfers to the top ally.

That has spurred anger and criticism from advocates who have dubbed the outgoing Democratic president “Genocide Joe”.

The US provides Israel with at least $3.8bn in military assistance annually, and researchers at Brown University recently estimated that the Biden administration provided an additional $17.9bn since the start of the Gaza war.

In an interview with Al Jazeera on Saturday, Casey said his job in Jerusalem was primarily focused on writing about the situation in Gaza, from humanitarian concerns to economic and political issues.

He said the US government is aware of the dire conditions in the territory, including the widespread casualties and lack of humanitarian assistance. “And yet we continue to pursue these policies and support what the Israeli military is doing there,” he said.

“They receive all of our reporting, they have everything we write, and they just disregard it.”

Asked why US government policy is what it is, Casey said he believes part of the reason is that “there’s no concern for Palestinian suffering”.

“We ignore Palestinian suffering. We accept the Israeli government narrative of events even if we know it’s not true, and we really pursue Israel’s interests. We don’t pursue our own interests,” he told Al Jazeera.

“And that was what pushed me out the door at the end.”

The State Department did not immediately respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment on Saturday.