US, UK and EU civil servants say their governments could risk complicity in ‘genocide’

Letter calls on governments to halt military support for Israel and use whatever leverage they may have to create a 'lasting ceasefire'

About 27,000 Palestinians have been killed amid the Israeli bombardment of Gaza and 65,000 wounded. AFP

Live updates: Follow the latest from Israel-Gaza

Hundreds of civil servants in the US, UK and EU wrote on Friday to their respective governments to halt unconditional support for Israel, which they say could put them at risk of complicity in “genocide”, and to take the necessary steps to help ensure a ceasefire.

The three-page letter, signed anonymously by about 850 people, states concerns that Israel has “shown no boundaries in its military operations in Gaza” and that there is a “plausible risk” that their governments' policies have contributed to “grave violations of international humanitarian law, war crimes and even ethnic cleansing or genocide” through their policies of support.

The letter, co-ordinated by employees in the US, EU and Netherlands, lays out a series of steps the signatories want their governments to take.

They want their governments to halt military support for Israel, use whatever leverage they may have to create a “lasting ceasefire” and develop a strategy for “lasting peace” which includes the establishment of a Palestinian state and ensuring Israel maintains its security guarantees.

Israel’s nearly four-month military campaign in the Gaza Strip, which followed the Hamas attack on southern Israel, has left the densely populated enclave in ruins. About 27,000 Palestinians have been killed and 65,000 wounded.

In Washington, there has been growing dissent among both domestic voters and civil servants over President Joe Biden administration’s “unwavering” support for Israel.

At the State Department, several dissent cables have been sent to Secretary of State Antony Blinken since October 7.

Gaza protest in Washington – in pictures

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators take part in a protest against the continuing war in Gaza outside Union Station in Washington on February 1. EPA

Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed since the militant group Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip on October 7. EPA

Israeli has responded with a military onslaught in the Palestinian enclave. EPA

The rally in the US capital drew protesters from far and wide. EPA

Meanwhile, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has said Joe Biden's administration must do more to address the issue of the besieged Palestinian people. EPA

Mr Austin said in regular talks with Israel he has stressed the need to protect civilian lives and provide humanitarian aid to the Palestinians. EPA

Demonstrators block a junction near the US Capitol as President Joe Biden attends the National Prayer Breakfast. Getty Images

Protesters in Washington call for a ceasefire in Gaza. Reuters

Pro-Palestine demonstrators shut down interstate ramps on the street on Capitol Hill, Washington. Reuters

Gaza protests in Washington. The National

A person participates in the protest in Washington. The National

Metropolitan Police Department officers as members of the anti-Zionist Jews group Neturei Karta join pro-Palestinians people blocking a street close to the US Capitol in Washington DC. AFP

Members of the anti-Zionist Jews group Neturei Karta join pro-Palestinians people blocking a street close to the US Capitol in Washington. AFP

Mr Blinken has held “listening sessions” with employees, but US policy for the most part has not changed and the Biden administration still refuses to call for a ceasefire.

Josh Paul, who worked in the Bureau of Political Military Affairs at the State Department before resigning in October over US military support of Israel, welcomed the letter.

“This is a remarkable statement from hundreds of individuals who have devoted their lives to building a better world, and, at a time where our politicians seem to have forgotten them, it is a much-needed reminder of the core values that bind the transatlantic relationship, and a proof that they endure,” Mr Paul said in post on LinkedIn.

A poll released on Friday found that half of adults in the US believe the military response from Israel in the Gaza Strip has gone too far.

That is an increase from the 40 per cent that expressed this belief in a November AP-NORC poll. More Republicans think Israel’s response has gone too far compared to November, while a similar majority of Democrats hold this belief, AP reported.

In Europe, calls for a ceasefire have steadily increased and European politicians in January adopted a non-binding resolution calling for a permanent ceasefire that would see Hamas dismantled and all hostages released.

Angelique Eijpe, a former Dutch diplomat, resigned in November over her country's policy towards Israel and Palestine. The veteran diplomat said she helped facilitate the letter along with other former and current diplomats.

“It was, on the one hand, a very easy decision and on the other hand, in a practical sense, it was a difficult decision,” Ms Eijpe said of her decision to leave the Dutch foreign service.

“I'm very proud of the transatlantic co-operation,” she told The National. “Oftentimes, it's kind of complicated to materialise, but here it is from a really cross-groups level.”

Robert Ford, a former US ambassador to Syria and Algeria, said he was impressed by the scope of the letter.

“I don't think I've ever seen a dissent like this that spans the Atlantic Ocean and involves career people from multiple governments all in one single communication,” Mr Ford told The National.

Kelly Petillo, programme manager for the Middle East and North Africa at the European Council on Foreign Relations think tank, said it was not clear how much impact the letter would have.

“I’m not sure if these gestures can prompt these governments to directly appeal against Israel’s conduct,” she told The National.

But, she noted, the letter “speaks to the frustrations felt by civil servants and the wider public across western democracies”.

“Considerations around basic international principles and the history of the Israel-Palestine conflict are not being factored in the calculations of these governments’ leaders, whose moves seem to rather rely on short-term calculations which are driven by historic guilt and domestic political drivers,” Ms Petillo said.

A representative for the Netherlands' Foreign Ministry said it was only “natural” that there be a robust debate about the war and Dutch policy towards it.

“We feel that there should be scope for this debate and we encourage staff to enter into dialogues internally,” the representative said.

100 days of Israel Gaza war – in pictures

Palestinian Muhammad Al Durra with his children in the ruins of a house in Rafah where they sheltered on January 11, 2024. EPA

Family and friends at the funerals of journalists Hamza Al Dahdouh and Mustafa Thuraya on January 7, 2024 in Rafah, Gaza. Getty Images

Palestinians mourn relatives killed by Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip outside a mortuary in Khan Younis January 4, 2024. AP Photo

Displaced Palestinians queue to bake bread at a camp in the Muwasi area of Rafah, Gaza Strip, on December 23, 2023. AP Photo

Palestinians queue for food in Rafah, the Gaza Strip, on December 20, 2023. AP Photo

The ruins of Rafah on December 14, 2023. AFP

Palestinians wounded in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip arrive at a hospital in Khan Younis on December 8, 2023. AP Photo

Palestinians flee Israeli bombing along the Salaheddine Road in the Zeitoun district of Gaza city on November 28, 2023. AFP

A Red Cross vehicle takes Israeli hostages from the Gaza Strip into Egypt in Rafah on November 25, 2023. AP

The ruins of buildings in Gaza city on November 24, 2023, as a temporary truce between Israel and Hamas took effect. AP Photo

A woman and her cat return home to eastern Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip during the first hours of a four-day truce between Israel and Hamas forces on November 24, 2023. AFP

Mourning the dead of Israeli bombardment outside the mortuary at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis on November 14, 2023. AFP

Civilians and rescuers look for survivors in the rubble of a building after Israeli bombing of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on November 12, 2023. AFP

November 7, 2023, a month to the day after Hamas attacked Israel, a victim of an Israeli bombardment in Rafah is moved from the rubble. AFP

Searching the rubble after Israeli air strikes on the town of Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on October 26, 2023. AP Photo

Mourning the Kotz family at their funeral in Gan Yavne, Israel, on October 17, 2023. AP Photo

An Israeli firefighter composes himself after he and his colleagues extinguished cars set on fire by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip in Ashkelon, Israel, on October 9, 2023. AP Photo

Palestinians with the wreckage of an Israeli tank at the Gaza Strip fence east of the city of Khan Younis on October 7, 2023, the day Hamas forces swept unopposed into Israel. AP Photo

Israeli police officers evacuate a woman and a child from a site hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, in Ashkelon, southern Israel, on October 7, 2023. AP Photo