Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) described the Biden administration’s review of Israel’s conduct of war in the Gaza Strip — which acknowledged the likely violation of international humanitarian law with the use of U.S. weapons — as “woefully inadequate “, but did not indicate a ban on weapons transfers.
“If this conduct complies with international standards, God help us all,” Van Hollen said in a call to reporters shortly after the State Department transmitted its report to Congress.
“Because that would set a very low standard for what is permitted, it would set a very low standard for the rules of war, it would set a very low standard for what is necessary to facilitate the provision of humanitarian assistance.”
The Biden administration delivered a report to Congress late Friday afternoon in which it determined that it was “reasonable to assess” that Israel violated international humanitarian law (IHL) in its conduct in Gaza. The report was mandated by National Security Memorandum 20 (NSM20), which Biden issued in February.
NSM20 required foreign governments receiving US military assistance, and who were engaged in active combat, to provide written assurances to Washington that US-supplied weapons are being used in accordance with IHL, and yet did not preclude the provision of humanitarian assistance. The memorandum also requires the Department of State and the Department of Defense to examine credible reports of IHL violations.
NSM20 was an outgrowth of Van Hollen’s effort to get President Biden to acknowledge the large-scale Palestinian civilian deaths in the Gaza Strip as a result of Israel’s war against Hamas and the challenges on the Israeli side that impede delivery of humanitarian aid. .
Van Hollen called the Biden administration’s report “woefully inadequate” and demonstrated a “major gap” in the assessment of reports from international NGOs that have scrutinized Israel’s seven-month war against Hamas.
“Although the administration has made some important general conclusions in this report, including the conclusion that it is reasonable to conclude that Israel violated international law in the use of American weapons, they all fail to make difficult decisions in specific cases,” he said. .
“But the government avoided all the difficult questions about how to make the real decision,” Van Hollen continued.
“As I read this report, the Biden administration is taking many of the representations made by the Netanyahu government seriously,” said the senator, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The administration indicates in its report that Israel has initiated investigations into reports of IHL violations.
Van Hollen said the findings could spur voices to restrict arms transfers to Israel. President Biden prevented more than 3,000 heavy bombs from being sent to Israel this week and warned against restricting further arms transfers in opposition to Israeli military action in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
“This report does not go into depth because I think that by going in depth you will not only reach a general conclusion about the likelihood of violations of international humanitarian law, but you will also have to make judgments about specific cases,” Van Hollen said.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
