Washington: 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.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, 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.”
Former Deuputy Political Consulor Mike Casey worked for the U.S. State Department for 15 years and was one of two people from the government explicitly focused on Gaza. Then he resigned.
“We don’t pursue our goals. We pursue Israeli goals.”
Casey says his reports on the Palestinian death toll in Gaza were questioned, even publicly by Biden.
His also says his findings were increasingly met with resistance and picked apart when they contradicted the Israeli government.
Casey is one of at least 13 U.S. officials who have quit since Israel launched its assault on Gaza last year.
