BANNED: State Department Memo Directs Diplomats to Avoid Talk of De-escalation in Gaza: Report

The New Republic previously asked: Why Are Biden Officials Deleting Tweets Calling for Israeli Restraint?

Peace is banned in the U.S.

The State Department told diplomats in a memo on Friday that they should not mention “de-escalation/ceasefire,” “end to violence/bloodshed” and “restoring calm,” when it comes to Israel’s revenge attacks in Gaza.

The Huffington Post, which viewed the high-level memo, said, “The revelation provides a stunning signal about the Biden administration’s reluctance to push for Israeli restraint as the close U.S. partner expands the offensive it launched after Hamas ― which rules Gaza ― attacked Israeli communities on Oct. 7.”

A State Department official told the Huffington Post that they would not comment on internal communications.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who has been a major war hawk during the Ukraine War, uncharacteristically called for a ceasefire in the early hours after Hamas carried out a major offensive on multiple fronts across Israel that has jolted the region.

Blinken posted that he spoke with his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan, and “encouraged Türkiye’s advocacy for a cease-fire and the release of all hostages held by Hamas immediately.”

Fox News reported that “pandemonium broke out” across the internet while the post was up.

Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., posted on X in response, “The Biden Administration is showing its true colors. Once Israel indicated it was going on offensive in Gaza, Blinken encouraged a cease-fire. Israel has every right to respond to these horrific acts of terror.”

Blinken, himself Jewish, removed the post, and the new message was a statement declaring that Israel has the “right to defend itself, rescue any hostages, and protect its citizens.”

Previously, the State Department’s Office of Palestinian Affairs said on X that it “unequivocally condemned the attack of Hamas terrorists and the loss of life that has incurred. We urge all sides to refrain from violence and retaliatory attacks. Terror and violence solve nothing.”

That comment was also deleted and replaced with a more militant post stating that the U.S. “unequivocally” condemns the attack.”

The New Republic noted that it was strange that the Biden State Department would allow Republican pressure to dictate its approach to the conflict.

“The State Department flip-flopping on a ceasefire is confusing at best,” the magazine wrote. “The agency’s entire job is to promote diplomacy, so surely its ultimate goal should be an end to all fighting. Instead, it is letting right-wing backlash determine its next moves.”

James Zogby, the founder of the Arab American Institute, posted on X: “Outrageous: the US deletes two statements calling for ‘ceasefire’ or to ‘refrain from violence & retaliatory attacks,’ replacing them w/ all out support for whatever Israel wants to do. We are not a solution. We are the enablers of occupation & escalation. Thousands more will die.”

Blinken has come out in full support of Israel and said the U.S. would never abandon its ally and likened the attack to the U.S.’s 9/11, according to The New York Times.