 "US says it is 'reasonable to assess' that Israel 'may have violated' international humanitarian law")
As the Israel-Hamas war continues to escalate, the United States said that it is “reasonable to assess” that the Jewish nation has violated humanitarian law during its military operation in Gaza.
In a highly anticipated report to Congress, the US State Department said that they found that weapons Washington provided to Tel Aviv may have been used in ways that are “inconsistent” with international human rights law. However, the State Department maintained that there is “no concrete evidence” to link specific US-supplied weapons to violations or warrant cutting the supply of arms.
“Given the nature of the conflict in Gaza, with Hamas seeking to hide behind civilian populations and infrastructure and expose them to Israeli military action, as well as the lack of USG personnel on the ground in Gaza, it is difficult to assess or reach conclusive findings on individual incidents,” the State Department said in the report.
“Nevertheless, given Israel’s significant reliance on US-made defence articles, it is reasonable to assess that defence articles covered under NSM-20 have been used by Israeli security forces since October 7 in instances inconsistent with its IHL obligations or with established best practices for mitigating civilian harm,” the report furthered.
The brewing tensions between Israel and the US
The damaging report came at a time when ties between Israel and the US have soured due to their disagreement over the Rafah ground assault. Both the United States and the United Nations have warned Israel that launching an assault on Rafah can cause a major humanitarian crisis.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsEarlier this week, US President Joe Biden said that his administration would halt the supply of weapons to Israel if the Jewish nation go ahead with the Rafah operation. Biden’s assertion drew severe criticism from Israel, indicating Tel Aviv’s discomfort with America’s foreign policy shift.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu brushed off all the criticism and remained adamant about the Rafah ground operation.
What did the report say?
The report by the US State Department covered the ongoing Israel-Hamas war from the start of the conflict. Interestingly, the assessment in the report was not that harsh on Israel. The Biden administration still maintained that it did not find any evidence which suggested that Israel has withheld humanitarian aid to Gaza.
The ultimate finding also stated that Israel’s assurance made under the national security memorandum is “credible and reliable”. However, this assessment has already raised scrutiny among some lawmakers and incredulity among human rights and humanitarian organizations.
Critics argued that the report did not mandate any actions to be taken against the Israeli government and it did not trigger any policy changes as well.
However, it is important to note that it was the first time the United States government had to make an assessment of Israel’s conflict with Hamas, which was triggered by the terror group’s surprise attack on October 7.
The criticisms that followed
Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen who was one of the key players who encouraged the Biden administration to create the national security memorandum, expressed disappointment in the report.
“The administration ducked all the hard questions about making the actual determination,” the Maryland Democrat told reporters Friday evening, CNN reported.
“I think what they’re trying to do is make clear that they recognize how bad the situation is, but they don’t want to have to take any action to hold the Netanyahu government accountable for what’s happening,” he added.
Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley, who is on the Foreign Relations Committee, echoed a similar sentiment. “On the one hand, it says that it’s very reasonable to conclude that there’s been restriction of aid, it’s very reasonable to conclude that our weapons have been used in violation of international law and then it proceeds to say that we just don’t want to give an answer on that yet,” Merkley averred.
The Oregon Democrat is one of the few US lawmakers who set foot on Rafah to see the ground realities. “Clearly, politics come into this and strategy comes into this, but it is frustrating because it’s so important at this moment that we use the leverage we have to persuade Israel to change its conduct,” he added
With inputs from agencies.
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