Retired lieutenant colonel who criticized Israel’s Gaza actions withdrawn from consideration for top US intelligence role

After The Jewish Insider reported that a critic of Israel’s actions in Gaza had been selected as a deputy director for the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), later reports indicated that he would no longer be appointed to the role.

On Wednesday, The Jewish Insider reported that Defense Priorities senior fellow, Daniel Davis, had been “tapped as a deputy director of national intelligence,” according to three sources with knowledge of the appointment.

Later on Wednesday, the New York Times reported that U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard “opted not to name” Davis to the post.

ODNI spokesperson Alexa Henning denied the reports that Davis had been selected for the role, stating in response to a Politico report that the “entire story is false.”

Davis, a former lieutenant colonel of the United States Army, has publicly criticized Israel for its actions in Gaza during the war, arguing that the U.S. and Israel bear responsibility for pushing Iran towards acquiring a nuclear weapon.

Davis said that Trump’s suggestion to remove all Palestinians from Gaza would constitute “ethnic cleansing,” and that the only path towards peace in the region is the establishment of “some kind of political settlement where the Palestinian people have some kind of hope for freedom.”

Regarding Iran, Davis has said that “the only way that Iran can be a real problem for the U.S. is if we get stupider and push them beyond a point to where they feel like their only hope of self-defense from being the next victim of a regime change war…is to get a nuclear weapon.”

While Davis will not be joining ODNI, the Trump administration has appointed several officials whose views on Israel differ significantly from those of U.S. President Donald Trump.

Trump recently appointed Amer Ghalib, a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, as the U.S. ambassador to Kuwait.

Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson has also expressed opposition to sending military aid to Israel and other foreign nations.