WASHINGTON: In a move certain to get blowback from international actors claiming a “genocide” in Gaza, the US said on Monday that it has not found Israel to be in violation of international humanitarian law in its conduct of the war in Gaza or the provision of humanitarian assistance.
Asked about Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s letter to the US government last week stating that Israel is using American-supplied weapons in accordance with the laws of war, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller confirmed that Israel and six other countries that receive US military aid – Colombia, Iraq, Kenya, Nigeria, Somalia and Ukraine – had submitted written assurances.
“In each case, these assurances were made by a credible high-level official and part of their government who has the ability and authority to make decisions and commitments about the issues at the heart of the assurances,” Miller said.
He added that the State Department will compile a report and send it to Congress by May.
A Feb. 8 memorandum signed by President Joe Biden requires countries that receive US military assistance to give Washington “credible and reliable written assurances” that the arms will be used in compliance with “international human rights law and international humanitarian law.”
Miller said: “We have not found them (Israel) to be in violation of international humanitarian law, either when it comes to the conduct of the war or when it comes to the provision of humanitarian assistance.”
– ‘Not credible’
Human Rights Watch and Oxfam last week said they sent a memorandum to the Biden administration saying Israel’s assurances to the US government are not credible, calling on the administration to immediately suspend arms transfers to Israel.
The two rights groups said that the report they submitted listed a wide range of Israeli violations of international humanitarian law since last Oct. 7, including the use of white phosphorus, strikes on ambulances and hospitals, and the systematic blocking of US-funded assistance.
Examples in the report include the use of US-supplied white phosphorus in military operations in Lebanon and Gaza in October, disproportionate strikes on or near several major hospitals between Oct. 7 and Nov. 7, and a strike on a marked ambulance that reportedly killed 15 people and injured 60.
They also accused Israel of systematically blocking assistance, including preventing aid provided by the US from reaching about 300,000 Palestinians in northern Gaza.
“There are good reasons why US law prohibits arms support for governments that block life-saving aid or violate international law with US weapons,” Sarah Yager, Washington director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.
“Given ongoing hostilities in Gaza, the Israeli government’s assurances to the Biden administration that it is meeting US legal requirements are not credible,” she added.
The US is facing a barrage of criticism for providing military assistance to Israel despite reports of its targeting civilians – with over 32,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, killed in Gaza – and credible reports of violations of international law and American law, including the blocking of aid provided by the US.
Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.
Over the decades, Israel has by far been the largest recipient of US foreign aid.
