The Biden administration is worried that Israel is violating international law with American weapons
May 11, 2024
Washington [US], May 11: The US State Department believes that weapons aid to Israel may be used inconsistently with international human rights law, but there is not enough conclusive evidence.
The Guardian reported on May 10 that in a report submitted to the US Congress, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of this country said there was reason to suspect that Israel had not followed through on its commitments when using US weapons. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Israel had made a "credible" commitment for the US to continue transferring weapons.
However, with Tel Aviv heavily dependent on US weapons, Israeli military attacks since October 2023 may have used US weapons "in cases inconsistent with international law", according to Mr. Blinken .
But the US State Department also admitted that the evidence was not enough to recommend that Congress stop providing arms aid to Israel, based on the national security memorandum that President Joe Biden signed in February to ensure that parties receive American weapons in compliance with human rights laws.
Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen said the government had "avoided difficult questions" about whether to continue aid to Israel. He emphasized that the US State Department's report itself also contained contradictions, worrying that Israel would not comply with its commitments but saying that Tel Aviv's commitment was "reliable".
The report also mentioned that the presence of individual violators does not necessarily mean that Israel is going against its commitments, as long as its authorities clearly investigate and hold violators accountable.
The above report was released two days after Mr. Biden was concerned about Israel's use of American weapons and stopped sending some bombs to Tel Aviv. The issue of arms transfer is the latest conflict in the US-Israel alliance. The Biden administration repeatedly protested and threatened to stop weapons transfers if Israel launched a large-scale attack on the city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on May 9 that Israelis were ready to "fight with their fingernails" if necessary, according to Reuters.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
