US State Department report: Some of Israel’s actions using US-made weapons “may” violate international humanitarian law Biden administration | Biden |

Release time:May 11, 2024 13:51 PM

On May 10, local time, the United States made its "strongest criticism" of Israel so far: it believed that the Israeli army used American weapons in the Gaza Strip "in a manner inconsistent with international humanitarian law."

This view comes from a report by the U.S. State Department. However, analysts generally believe that the report contains "contradictory" statements, does not officially state that Israel has violated international humanitarian law, and avoids the key issue of whether arms supplies to Israel should be cut off.

The U.S. State Department issued a report saying that after investigation, it had "reason to believe" that Israel violated international law when it used U.S. weapons in its military operations in the Gaza Strip, and listed a large number of credible cases of civilian and rescue personnel casualties to support this.

The 46-page report was declassified on the 10th and sent to Congress for review. The report was released at a time when the Biden administration was in a dilemma. On one side, there are congressional Democrats calling for a cutoff in arms supplies to Israel; on the other side, there are congressional Republicans accusing the U.S. government of wavering in its support for Israel.

Some media commented that the report meant that the Biden administration had made "the strongest criticism to date" of Israel, and that the findings it disclosed marked "another serious moment in U.S.-Israeli relations."

However, while criticizing Israel, the report stated that due to wartime conditions, the United States "does not have complete information to verify" whether the Israeli military has committed illegal acts.

Some analysts pointed out that the statements in the report were contradictory. On the one hand, it said that there was illegal behavior, but on the other hand, it said that it could not be clearly assessed.

First, the report states that the Israeli military is "heavily dependent" on U.S.-made weapons and equipment and has "reason to believe" that its use of U.S. weapons is "incompatible with international humanitarian law and established best practices for mitigating harm to civilians."

The report then stated that given the complex nature of the conflict in Gaza and the fact that Israel has not "shared relevant complete information" with the United States, the United States is unable to make a clear assessment of whether the Israeli military has committed illegal acts.

After disclosing various cases and clues, the report ended with "no conclusion can be drawn." The U.S. State Department even concluded that Israel’s assurances regarding the protection of civilians and compliance with international law were “credible and reliable.”

It is worth noting that the United States did not ask the Israeli government to take any action after the report was issued. Analysts say this means the United States can continue to provide arms supplies and military assistance to Israel.

The report has already raised questions among some members of Congress and is likely to anger international humanitarian groups.

Some congressmen pointed out that the Biden administration "failed to seriously evaluate and avoided key issues", that is, the thorny issue of whether arms supplies to Israel should be cut off.

"They're trying to show that they recognize how bad the situation is but don't want to take any action to hold the Netanyahu government accountable for what's going on," Democratic U.S. Senator Van Hollen said.

Some congressional Republicans commented that the report was a distraction and had "no meaning other than providing political cover for the president." At present, many anti-Israel protests have broken out in the United States, and most protesters are dissatisfied with the Biden administration's favoritism for Israel.

In the past, the United States has been seeking a middle ground in its attitude towards Israel, urging Israel to take more measures to protect civilians without directly threatening to stop sending weapons to it, and trying its best to avoid making remarks about Israel's serious violations of human rights or international law. Public opinion believes that this is an attempt by the United States to control domestic protests and please Israel, but the final result may be unpalatable to both parties.

Not long ago, an international human rights organization reported that in more than a dozen air strikes carried out by Israel, there was credible evidence that Israel had "seriously violated" international humanitarian and human rights law. Its targets include aid convoys, hospitals, journalists, schools and refugee centers, among other locations broadly protected under international law.

But in general, the Biden administration has recently changed its attitude towards Israel's handling of the situation in Gaza, which is in contrast to its previous "partial" support.

On Monday, Israel announced in a "high profile" that it was about to launch military operations against Rafah, the southernmost city in the Gaza Strip, and asked civilians to evacuate. These remarks once again attracted the attention of the international community.

Biden later said he would limit the supply of weapons to Israel if it continued its massive offensive against Rafah. He also admitted that American weapons were used by the Israeli military to kill civilians. This is the first time Biden has threatened to suspend arms shipments to Israel and the first time he has admitted that U.S. weapons have been used to kill civilians.

Previously, Biden has been unwilling to impose too many restrictions on weapons assistance to Israel. At most, he has only temporarily detained a certain batch of weapons shipments.

However, on the 7th of this month, the United States stated that it had suspended the delivery of a batch of 3,500 bombs last week because Israel did not respond to Washington's "concerns" about the attack on Rafah.

A few days ago, the White House also said that Biden believed that even if Israel launched a large-scale military operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, it would not be able to defeat Hamas.

However, Biden also said that even though Israel's military operations have increased regional tensions, the Israeli army has not yet entered the densely populated areas of Rafah, and the operations against Rafah "have not yet crossed the red line."

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