United States State Department’s spokesperson for the Middle East and North Africa, Hala Rharrit, has resigned in protest of America’s policy on Gaza — at least the third high-profile resignation from the department, as pro-Palestinian demonstrations at university campuses across the country grow.
Rharrit was also the Dubai Regional Media Hub’s deputy director and joined the State Department almost two decades ago as a political and human rights officer, the department’s website showed.
“I resigned April 2024 after 18 years of distinguished service in opposition to the United States’ Gaza policy. Diplomacy, not arms. Be a force for peace and unity,” Hala Rharrit wrote in a LinkedIn post, according to Al Arabiya.
A State Department spokesperson, when asked about the resignation in Thursday’s press briefing, said the department has channels for its workforce to share views when it disagrees with government policies. Under close questioning, Spokesperson Vendant Patel refused to go beyond saying, “This is a personal matter.”
Nearly a month earlier, Annelle Sheline of the State Department’s human rights bureau announced her resignation, and State Department official Josh Paul resigned in October. A senior official in the US Education Department, Tariq Habash, who is Palestinian-American, had stepped down in January.—APP
