Former State Department head Mike Casey says the US government is following Israel's interests instead.
Mike Casey says he's never seen anything like it.
In fact, the first States Department The official – who served as deputy political adviser at the United States Office of Palestinian Affairs – described his experience as ambassador to Jerusalem as humiliating.
“It's embarrassing … to see how we listen to what the Israeli government wants and continue to support what the Israeli government is doing even though we know it's wrong,” Casey told Al Jazeera.
And I have never seen this in any other country where I have served.”
After four years in office, Casey resigned in July over what he described as the US government's unwavering support for Israel despite its destruction of the Gaza Strip.
His resignation – first reported by The Guardian newspaper this week – is the latest by a US official who has been angered by President Joe Biden's support for Israel. since the war in Gaza started in October 2023.
Until now, more than 45,000 Palestinians killed in an Israeli attack on the beach.
The war has plunged Gaza into a major humanitarian crisis, with United Nations experts and major human rights groups accusing the Israeli army of war crimes, including. killing people.
The US has said it is working to secure an end to the war and the release of prisoners in Gaza. It also said it has pressured Israel to reduce civilian casualties in its military operations.
But Biden has refused to use American aid to Israel as a way to end the war, refusing to stop US weapons going to its biggest ally.
This has led to anger and criticism from activists who have done so he was named the outgoing democratic president “Genocide Joe”.
The US gives Israel at least $3.8bn in military aid annually, and researchers at Brown University recently reported that the Biden administration has provided an additional $17.9bn since the Gaza war began.
In an interview with Al Jazeera on Saturday, Casey said his work in Jerusalem focused on covering the situation in Gaza, from the humanitarian to the economic and political.
He added that the US government is aware of the situation in the region, including widespread casualties and the lack of humanitarian aid. “However, we continue to follow these principles and support what the Israeli army is doing there,” he said.
“They receive all our reports, they have everything we write, and they just ignore it.”
When asked why the US government's policy is the way it is, Casey said he believes one of the reasons is that it “has nothing to do with the plight of the Palestinians”.
“We ignore the suffering of Palestinians. We accept what the Israeli government says about events even though we know they are not true, and we follow Israel's interests. We do not follow our own interests,” he told Al Jazeera.
“And that's 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.