Biden administration says Israel is not violating US arms terms

The Biden administration said Friday that it was “reasonable to assess” that Israel violated international law in Gaza by using weapons supplied by the United States, but that it did not violate the terms of U.S. arms agreements.

In a report to Congress, the State Department said it did not see specific cases that would justify withholding military aid.

The report states that Israel has “the knowledge, experience and tools to implement best practices to mitigate civilian harm in its military operations”, but noted that results on the ground, “including high levels of civilian casualties, raise substantial questions ” about whether the Israel Defense Forces are “using them effectively in all cases.”

The report also highlighted limitations on US access to Israeli information. While Israel has provided some information “on request” about specific incidents related to targeting decisions and damage assessments, more details are needed, the report states.

“While we have obtained information about Israel’s procedures and rules, we do not have complete information about how these processes are implemented,” the report stated. “Israel has not shared complete information to verify” whether certain US-supplied weapons were used in incidents that allegedly violated international humanitarian law.

The report states that Israel has identified several national accountability mechanisms focused on investigating and addressing any potential violations of law, and that the country has confirmed the opening of “a number of criminal investigations” into possible violations of Israeli law or international humanitarian law, but the State Department was unaware of any process.

The report did not conclude that the Israeli government is blocking the transport or delivery of humanitarian assistance.

“Although the US has had deep concerns during the period since October 7 about Israeli action and inaction that has contributed significantly to the lack of sustained and predictable delivery of necessary assistance on a large scale, and the global level of harm to Palestinian civilians – Although improved – remains insufficient, we currently do not assess that the Israeli government is prohibiting or otherwise restricting the transportation or delivery of U.S. humanitarian assistance” under the Foreign Assistance Act, the report said.

The State Department will continue to monitor and respond to challenges related to delivering aid to Palestinian civilians in Gaza.

“If it were not for the United States’ sustained engagement with the Israeli government at the highest levels, the humanitarian crisis that has persisted in recent months would have been even more dire,” the report states.

The U.S. believes assurances given by Israel are reliable and credible, a senior State Department official told NBC News on Friday, but said the administration’s assessment of its compliance with international humanitarian law is ongoing. .

President Joe Biden in February issued a national security memorandum which required the secretary of state to obtain certain written assurances from foreign governments receiving U.S. weapons, and that the secretaries of state and defense provide periodic reports to Congress on the matter.

Following the release of the report, the Senate Republican Conference began circulating an internal messaging document to Senate GOP offices. The document, obtained by NBC News, criticizes the State Department’s findings as “yet another unnecessary report designed to appease the Democrats’ anti-Semitic base.”

Sen. Jim Risch of Idaho, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the Biden administration “gave Israel a politically damaging assessment” and that the president intended to “appease far-left voters at the expense of an ally close in the middle of their justified war with Hamas terrorists.”

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said separately that the report “has no purpose other than to provide political cover for the president with his base.”

Biden has also faced criticism from some Democrats over his handling of arms transfers related to the Israel-Gaza war.

Senior administration officials previously told NBC News that the U.S. suspended a large shipment of offensive weapons to Israel last week over fears they would be used to invade Rafah, a city in southern Gaza where more than 1 million people are sheltering. Biden later he said OnCNN that the US would not provide Israel with certain weapons and artillery shells if it launched a ground offensive in Rafah.