Former US State Department Official Says 30-Day Deadline for Israel to Let More Aid into Gaza Is a PR Ploy

Hala Rharrit said the US is in violation of multiple foreign assistance laws by continuing to arm Israel

by Dave DeCamp October 24, 2024

https://news.antiwar.com/2024/10/24/former-us-state-department-official-says-30-day-deadline-for-israel-to-let-more-aid-into-gaza-is-a-pr-ploy/#gsc.tab=0

A former Arabic language spokeswoman for the State Department, who resigned over US support for the genocidal slaughter in Gaza, said in an interview that aired Wednesday that the Biden administration’s warning to Israel to allow more aid into Gaza within 30 days was nothing more than a pre-election public relations stunt.

“I can tell you, as someone that worked within the State Department PR machine, that this, unfortunately, is a public relations ploy. I am sad to say it, but it’s the truth. It is conveniently 30 days, marking the time after the election,” Hala Rharrit told Democracy Now. “Also, it was conveniently leaked. It’s not typical for a statement like this to be leaked to the press, but it was.”

The Biden administration sent the letter to Israeli officials on October 14 and suggested that if the demands aren’t met, US military aid could be affected. However, the letter didn’t explicitly threaten to cut off weapons shipments, and the State Department also declined to say if there would be any consequences for Israel.

The State Department and the administration at this point is trying to give voters, especially those that are so concerned about the conflict in Gaza, some level of hope: ‘As long as you vote for us, after this 30 days, we’ll enforce the law, and we will make a change.’ This is absolutely a deception for the voters and for the American people,” Rharrit said.

Rharrit said the US was violating multiple foreign assistance laws by providing military aid to Israel. “The reality is that we, as the United States government, are in violation of US law, of multiple of laws that your viewers can Google for themselves: the Leahy Law, the Foreign Assistance Act, the Arms Export Control Act. We continue to willfully violate laws so that we surge US military assistance to Israel,” she said.

Discussing State Department spokesman Matt Miller, Rharrit called him a liar. “As to Matthew Miller, I’m going to be unequivocal: He’s lying. And I know, I realize it’s quite a forceful thing for me to say, but as a former diplomat, I can assure that,” she said.

Rharrit pointed to the fact that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been the obstacle to a ceasefire deal, while the State Department has always blamed Hamas. “There have been ceasefire deals that Hamas has agreed to. I am not one to advocate for the terrorist organization whatsoever, and I want to be clear about that. But facts are facts. Hamas has repeatedly agreed to ceasefire deals. It is Benjamin Netanyahu who has reneged on those deals,” she said.

Rharrit resigned from her post in the State Department back in April. She was a career diplomat, first entering the foreign service in 2006. She is one of 13 officials from US government agencies who have publicly resigned over President Biden’s full-throated support for the slaughter in Gaza.