Ex-State Department official says Biden administration is covering up truth about Gaza aid
Washington DC - Stacy Gilbert, a career State Department official, spoke out against what she says Biden administration's cover-up of Israeli obstruction of aid to Gaza in her first interview since resigning her post.
Gilbert resigned from her position in the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration because the Biden administration is "twisting the facts" to suggest Israel is not blocking humanitarian assistance to Gaza, which is "patently, demonstrably, quantifiably false," she told HuffPost.
The breaking point came after the State Department released a report stating that it was "reasonable to assess" Israel has used American weapons in ways inconsistent with standards on humanitarian rights but that the US could not reach "conclusive findings."
The report also claimed the US does not "currently assess that the Israeli government is prohibiting or otherwise restricting the transport or delivery of US humanitarian assistance" – a conclusion Gilbert strongly disagrees with.
"We could have AI write the report because it is not informed by reality or context or the informed opinions of subject matter experts," Gilbert said to HuffPost.
"On any given day, you can ask the logistics cluster how many tonnes of food are being held up at the border, why are they being held up," she added. "No one who knows humanitarian assistance, who works in that field, there is no one who is saying Israel is not blocking that aid."
Stacy Gilbert details "very unusual" handling of government report
Gilbert said she initially welcomed the opportunity to work on the report, but quickly realized there might be a pro-Israel political agenda behind the project.
In late April, experts were taken off the report, and "the final document was edited at a higher level."
"It’s a very unusual way to handle an official report," Gilbert said.
Seeing the final product made her realize she could no longer work for the agency and that her "energy is better used outside the State Department."
Gilbert is the latest in a string of federal employees who have resigned over the Biden administration's continued support for Israel's harmful actions in Gaza, including the killing of over 36,000 Palestinians.
The US government continues to send billions of dollars in weaponry to Israel, while humanitarian aid remains largely inaccessible to the forcibly displaced and starving population.
Just this week, USAID official Alexander Smith stepped down following backlash over an internal presentation he prepared on Palestinian maternal and child mortality, which was canceled by agency leadership.
Cover photo: MANDEL NGAN / AFP