According to a source, some State Department officials don’t think Israel is utilizing US weaponry in compliance with international law.
There is disagreement inside the State Department about whether Israel is complying with international law when utilizing weaponry supplied by the United States. The time for Secretary of State Antony Blinken to report to Congress is rapidly approaching—next week.
Regarding whether to believe Israel’s assurances about this as “credible and reliable,” opinions are divided, according to a department official. President Joe Biden’s national security brief from February compelled Israel to provide the US with those guarantees.
“In a manner consistent with all applicable international and domestic law and policy, including international humanitarian law and international human rights law,” is the pledge that all nations that receive US weaponry must provide.
As per the memorandum, Blinken is required to inform Congress by May 8th as to whether or not he has certified the guarantees as reputable and trustworthy.
Human rights organizations have charged Israel with war crimes and violations that occurred in the Gaza conflict. In the past, several hundred Western officials—including some from the US—have expressed worry that their governments, in supporting Israel’s campaign against Hamas, would be implicated in war crimes.
The State Department official on Sunday did not provide any more information regarding which departments within the department support trusting Israel’s assurances, which oppose them, or which took no stance.
According to Reuters on Sunday, “serious concern over non-compliance” with international humanitarian law throughout the war was expressed by four bureaus: Population, Refugees, and Migration; Global Criminal Justice; Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor; and International Organization Affairs.
A spokesman for the State Department, Matthew Miller, stated in a statement, “We don’t comment on leaked documents, especially those purporting to contain classified information.”
“The Secretary frequently hears a wide range of opinions from within the Department on complex issues, and he takes all of those opinions into consideration,” the statement said. “In this case, the Department has the guarantees mandated by the National Security Memorandum, and we are getting ready to submit a report to Congress.”
Concerns have arisen since Biden ratified an assistance deal of $26 billion for Israel. The Foreign Military Financing Program will use $3.5 billion to purchase modern weaponry and other products, while $4.4 billion will be used to replenish defense supplies and services given to Israel.
The US has sold Israel more than 100 foreign weapons systems since Hamas attacked Israel in October, killing nearly 1,200 Israelis. According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, since the start of the conflict, more than 34,000 Palestinians have died there.
Progressives are becoming more and more irate with Biden’s backing of Israel as demonstrations against the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza expand throughout the United States, especially on college campuses where demonstrators have denounced the actions of “Genocide Joe.” However, on a Sunday chat with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump once again underlined his “ironclad” support for Israel.
If the US determines that Israel is obstructing supplies to Gaza and violating human rights laws, the White House may reduce financial support, halt military provisions, or sharply increase public pressure on Netanyahu.
But there have been moments when Biden’s unwavering support for Israel’s fight has faltered. The president threatened Netanyahu for the first time after the Israeli strike this month that claimed the lives of seven World Central Kitchen employees. He told Netanyahu over the phone that if Israel did not act quickly to permit more humanitarian aid into Gaza, the US might be forced to alter its policy of unrestricted support.
The annual report on human rights from the State Department last week sparked serious concerns over war crimes linked to the conflict between Israel and Hamas. In addition to mentioning the activities of Hamas on October 7, the report also mentioned the forced disappearance of thousands of Palestinians from Gaza and “reports of systemic torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment or punishment of Palestinian detainees in prison facilities after October 7.”
Blinken stated last week that the State Department was investigating the instances, even though the report does not reflect the US government’s own conclusions.
“It is imperative that we allocate sufficient time to obtain the necessary facts and information and conduct the necessary analysis,” he stated. “Trying to do this in real time is really difficult.”
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin stated that, to the best of his knowledge, “we don’t have any evidence of genocide being created” by Israel during its conflict in Gaza before a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing this month.
Blinken has previously referred to accusations of Israel’s genocide as “meritless.”
