Top CIA official posted pro-Palestine picture on Facebook two weeks after Hamas' terror attack on Israel as Biden faces mutiny from within

A growing revolt within the Biden administration at his handling of the Israel-Hamas war has reached the top ranks of the CIA after a top analysis chief changed her Facebook profile to a Palestinian flag.

More than 400 administration staff signed an anonymous letter earlier this month demanding the President seek an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

Another 1,000 employed by the US Agency for International Development echoed the call, but State Department officials have refused to crack down on the dissent, instead holding 'listening sessions' with staff as unrest grows.

Now it has emerged that a CIA associate deputy director for analysis changed her Facebook cover photo to a picture of a man waving a Palestinian flag just two weeks after the brutal Hamas attack that claimed 1,200 lives.

The chief who had responsibility for presenting the President's daily intelligence briefing, previously posted a selfie with the motto 'Free Palestine' superimposed on the photograph, the Financial Times reported.

'The public posting of an obviously controversial political statement by a senior analytic manager in the middle of a crisis shows glaringly poor judgment,' one former intelligence official told the paper.

'Given the CIA's longstanding incredibly close relationship with the Israelis in a liaison capacity, this would be highly irregular for a senior agency official,' said another.

Biden has repeatedly refused to demand a ceasefire in the conflict which has now claimed 13,000 Palestinian lives amid relentless Israeli bombing of the Gaza strip.

But calls for a ceasefire have waned as a series of temporary truces have been agreed in exchange for the release of some of the 240 hostages seized by Hamas and its allies during the October 7 attack.

On Tuesday night it was reported that the fragile truce between Israel and Hamas could be extended until Sunday morning if Hamas releases all women and children in their captivity.

Around 100 women and children were thought to be among the hostages and 60 have so far been freed in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.

CIA director Bill Burns is currently in Qatar where hostage negotiations are taking place, and critics voiced fear that they could be undermined by the revelation of his analysis chief's sympathies.

'Given the role director Burns is playing in the ongoing crisis in Israel, social media activity along these lines by a senior US intelligence officer reflects exceptionally and surprisingly bad judgment,' said a third former intelligence official.

The chief is one of three people responsible for approving all analysis disseminated inside the agency, and has also published posts on Facebook taking a stand against antisemitism, a colleague said.

'The officer is a career analyst with extensive background in all aspects of the Middle East and this post was not intended to express a position on the conflict,' they added.

But State Department officials are thought to have deluged with protests through the official Dissent Channel system, set up in the wake of the Vietnam War to allow staff to vent protest at official policy

'I know that for many of you, the suffering caused by this crisis is taking a profound personal toll,' Secretary of State Anthony Blinken wrote to staff earlier this month.

'The anguish that comes with seeing the daily images of babies, children, elderly people, women, and other civilians suffering in this crisis is wrenching. I feel it myself.

'We've organized forums in Washington to hear from you, and urged managers and teams to have candid discussions at posts around the world precisely so we can hear your feedback and ideas.'

A spokesperson for the agency refused to say if the analyst would be disciplined but added: 'CIA officers are committed to analytic objectivity, which is at the core of what we do as an agency.

'CIA officers may have personal views, but this does not lessen their, or CIA's, commitment to unbiased analysis.'