A senior US official resigned on Wednesday in protest of President Joe Biden’s handling of the conflict in Gaza.
The resignation is the latest sign of division within the Biden administration as the death toll of Palestinians continues to rise in the war.
Tariq Bush, a special assistant in the Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development at the US Department of Education, said in a letter to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona: “I cannot remain silent while this administration turns a blind eye to the atrocities committed against innocent Palestinians, in what leading human rights experts have described as an Israeli government genocide campaign.”
Bush, an American of Palestinian descent and an expert on student loans, was appointed at the start of Biden’s presidency.
On Wednesday, 17 members of Biden’s 2020 campaign issued a warning in an unsigned letter that the president could lose votes over the sensitive issue.
In the letter, which was published on the Medium platform, the campaign members, who did not reveal their identities, urged Biden to call for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Biden’s campaign has not yet responded to a request for comment.
