A senior US State Department official during the Biden administration has said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu helped create a genocide in Gaza.
In an interview with Bloomberg’s The Mishal Husain Show, Wendy Sherman said she was not in a position to make a legal determination on whether genocide had occurred in the besieged enclave, but added there was “no doubt that Gaza was demolished”.
"It is critical that Israel remains an ally of the US and we protect the right of a Jewish state," Sherman, who served as deputy secretary of state between 2021 and 2023, said.
However, she added that she believes Netanyahu "led us down a road - and we have been part of it - that has, in essence, created a genocide in Gaza that has destabilised the Middle East". The interview was published on Friday.
The UN’s top investigative body on Palestine and Israel ruled in September that Israel is guilty of the crime of genocide in the Strip.
Israeli forces have killed at least 72,500 Palestinians since October 2023, following the Hamas-led attack in southern Israel that left more than 1,100 Israelis dead. Thousands more Palestinians are missing and presumed dead.
Over two years of daily bombardment, Israeli forces have destroyed around 80 percent of civilian infrastructure, including homes, hospitals and schools.
Speaking about Palestinians, Sherman said they “deserve a home, dignity and peace”, adding that Israel also has the right to achieve security and peace.
"I’m a strong supporter of Israel and the right of a Jewish state, but I am not a supporter of destroying any civilization, or any people - that goes for the Palestinians or the Iranian people, as much as I might find the regime odious."
Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State under Joe Biden, Wendy Sherman: I believe that Netanyahu has led us down a road, and we have been part of it. That has, in essence, created a genocide in Gaza, that has destabilized the Middle East. pic.twitter.com/GSeOTwXGwV
Sherman, who has held senior roles under multiple administrations, is one of several US officials to criticise the role Washington has played during Israel's genocide since 2023.
In July 2024, a dozen former US government officials who quit over US support for Israel accused the Biden administration of "undeniable complicity" in the killing of Palestinians in the enclave.
In a joint statement, the 12 former government officials said the administration was violating US laws through its support for Israel and finding loopholes to continue shipping weapons to its ally.
Among the people who signed the joint statement were former members of the State Department, Education Department, Interior Department, the White House and the military.
"America's diplomatic cover for, and continuous flow of arms to, Israel has ensured our undeniable complicity in the killings and forced starvation of a besieged Palestinian population in Gaza," the former officials said in the statement.
Similar concerns were raised by US Senators Chris Van Hollen and Jeff Merkley, who released a report in September stating that the US is complicit in Israel’s “ethnic cleansing” of Palestinians.
They also concluded that Netanyahu’s policies in the occupied West Bank amount to ethnic cleansing “in slow motion”.
