An Israeli soldier cleans a weapon near the Israel-Gaza border amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas on May 2, 2024 in Israel. Image Credit: Reuters
The Biden administration said on May 10 that Israel’s use of US-supplied weapons in Gaza would violate international humanitarian law, but wartime conditions prevented US officials from determining with certainty on specific airstrikes.
The administration’s findings of “reasonable” evidence to conclude that its ally violated international law in the conduct of the war in Gaza, released in a summary of the report to Congress on Friday, represented such a strong statement by Biden officials.
But the caveat that it was not immediately possible to link specific US weapons to individual strikes by Israeli forces in Gaza could give the administration leeway in any future decision on whether to restrict US supplies of offensive weapons to Israel.
The administration’s findings, a first-of-its-kind assessment forced by President Joe Biden’s fellow Democrats in Congress, come after seven months of airstrikes, ground fighting and aid embargoes that have claimed the lives of nearly 35,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children.
A soon-to-be-released Biden administration review of Israel’s use of US-supplied weapons in its Gaza war will not conclude that Israel violated the rules for their use, according to three people briefed on the matter.
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According to a US official, the report is expected to be harshly critical of Israel, even if it does not conclude that Israel has violated the terms of US-Israel arms treaties.
The administration’s findings about its close ally’s conduct of the war, a first-of-its-kind assessment forced by President Joe Biden’s fellow Democrats in Congress, come after seven months of airstrikes, ground fighting and aid embargoes that have claimed lives. About 35,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children.
Mr. They have also faced growing outrage at home and abroad over the rising Palestinian death toll and the onset of famine, caused by Israeli restrictions on the movement of food and aid into Gaza. In recent weeks Mr. Despite Biden’s adamant opposition, Mr. Tensions have been further heightened by Netanyahu’s pledge
Mr. Biden is in the closing months of a tough re-election campaign against Donald Trump. He faces demands from many Democrats to cut off the flow of offensive arms to Israel and condemnation from Republicans who accuse him of wavering support for Israel in its time of need.
Two US officials and a third party discussed the findings ahead of the release of a report to Congress by Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the national security memo. He spoke on condition of anonymity because the information is not yet public.
Further details on the results of the administration’s review were not immediately available. A senior Biden administration official said the memo is expected to be released later Friday, but declined to comment on its conclusions.
Axios first reported on the memo’s findings.
The Democratic administration took one of the first steps in recent days to condition military aid to Israel, pausing a shipment of 3,500 bombs over concerns about Israel’s threatened offensive on Rafah, a southern Palestinian city of more than a million. said the official.
A presidential directive passed in February obliges the Departments of Defense and State to “conduct an evaluation of any credible reports or articles of defense and, as appropriate, allegations that the Defense Services have been used inconsistently with international law, including international humanitarian law.”
The deal also obliges them to tell Congress whether they think Israel has acted to “arbitrarily deny, block or impede, directly or indirectly” any US-backed humanitarian aid from reaching Gaza to starving civilians there.
MLA and others advocated for review, Shri. Biden and previous American leaders have said they followed a double standard when enforcing U.S. laws governing how foreign militaries use U.S. support, something the Biden administration denies. They urged the administration to make a direct legal determination of whether there is credible evidence that specific Israeli airstrikes on schools, crowded neighborhoods, medical workers, aid convoys and other targets and restrictions on aid shipments to Gaza violated the laws of war. Human rights.
His detractors argued that a U.S. finding against Israel would weaken it at a time when it is fighting Hamas and other Iran-backed groups. Any sharply critical findings on Israel are sure to add pressure on Mr. Biden to curb the flow of arms and money to Israel’s military.
Any finding against Israel could jeopardize Mr. Biden’s support in this year’s presidential election from some voters who strongly support Israel.
While the White House agreed to the review, Democratic lawmakers and independent Sen. It’s working to bring out Bernie Sanders’ measures in Vermont.