A report from President Joe Biden's administration found that Israeli forces likely used U.S.-supplied weapons in a manner “inconsistent” with international law, but stopped short of identifying violations that would end ongoing military aid.
In the report, released late Friday, the US State Department said Israel did not provide adequate information to verify whether US weapons were used in possible violations of international law during its war in Gaza.
The Biden White House had issued a national security memorandum, NSM-20, in February demanding that Israel and other countries receiving military aid provide written assurances that all weapons supplied by the United States were used in a manner consistent with the law. international.
The United States would then make a decision on future military aid based on those written assurances. Friday's report is a byproduct of that memo.
“It is reasonable to assess that Israeli security forces have used defense items covered by NSM-20 since October 7 in cases incompatible with their IHL. [international humanitarian law] obligations or with established best practices to mitigate harm to civilians,” the report says.
However, the report adds that the Biden administration believes Israel is taking “appropriate steps” to address such concerns.
Political reaction
The United States has been a consistent ally of Israel during its seven-month military campaign in Gaza, which began on October 7.
That war, however, has sparked international protests as humanitarian concerns grow.
Nearly 35,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, many of them women and children, and the head of the United Nations World Food Program has declared a “full-blown famine” in the northern part of the strait enclave.
Still, Israel's siege of Gaza continues and access to food, water and electricity is severely limited. UN experts have repeatedly warned of a “risk of genocide” in the territory.
As a result, the Biden administration has faced pressure, particularly from the progressive flank of the Democratic Party, to address humanitarian concerns by imposing conditions on military aid to Israel.
After the report's release Friday, progressive lawmakers expressed disappointment with its conclusions.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen, for example, said it “doesn't do the hard work of making an assessment and sidesteps the ultimate questions the report was designed to answer.”
Republicans, meanwhile, criticized the report for undermining Israel's campaign against the Palestinian group Hamas.
Senator Jim Risch, for example, called the document “politically damaging” and said it would cause long-term damage to US allies beyond Israel.
“NSM-20 is aimed squarely at Israel in the near term, but additional highly politicized reporting requirements will eventually be aimed at other US allies and partners around the world, further impeding the delivery of security assistance and undermining our ability to deter Israel. China and Russia,” he wrote in a statement.
Impediments to the report
Friday's report acknowledged the limits of the US State Department's conclusions, noting that the information Israel provided was not exhaustive.
“Although we have gained insight into Israel's procedures and regulations, we do not have complete information on how these processes are implemented,” the report reads.
He also said that war itself creates barriers to understanding what is happening on the ground.
“It is difficult to assess or reach conclusive conclusions about individual incidents” in Gaza, the report says, citing the lack of US government personnel on the ground.
He also echoed Israeli accusations that Hamas could be manipulating civilian casualties for its own benefit.
Gaza, according to the report, represents “as difficult a battle space as any army has faced in modern warfare.”
Tracking the flow of aid
The report also sought to assess whether Israel was impeding the flow of aid to Gaza, another possible violation of international humanitarian law, as well as US law.
It found “numerous cases during the period of Israeli actions that delayed or had a negative effect on the delivery of aid to Gaza.”
However, the report concluded that it could not assess that “the Israeli government is prohibiting or otherwise restricting the transportation or delivery of U.S. humanitarian assistance within the meaning of section 620I of the Foreign Assistance Act.”
However, humanitarian groups have reported for months that Israel systematically blocks large portions of aid from entering the Gaza Strip.
Overall, the report states that US intelligence agencies “have no direct indications that Israel is intentionally targeting civilians,” but assess that “Israel could do more to prevent harm to civilians.”
Additionally, the State Department pledged to continue monitoring the situation in Gaza, particularly as it relates to the delivery of aid.
“This is an ongoing assessment and we will continue to monitor and respond to any challenges in the delivery of aid to Palestinian civilians in Gaza in the future.”
