US Report Criticizes Israel, But Does Not Block Arms Deliveries

(Patria) - A long-awaited State Department report on Friday criticized Israel's use of American weapons in Gaza, but found insufficient evidence of violations of law to block deliveries.

The report stated that it is "reasonable to assess" that Israel has used weapons in ways inconsistent with international humanitarian law, but that the US could not reach "conclusive findings," AFP reported.

The report was held up for several days in debate within the State Department and was finally released after President Joe Biden publicly threatened to withhold certain bombs and artillery shells for Israel if it proceeded with an assault on the city of Rafah. The report does not affect that decision, and the White House reiterated on Friday its concern about Israeli military operations around Rafah, where about 1.4 million Palestinians are sheltering.

Biden, responding to critics within his Democratic party concerned about civilian casualties in the Gaza war, issued a memorandum in February known as NSM-20 requiring countries receiving US military aid to provide "credible and reliable" assurances that they comply with human rights laws.

Israel has provided assurances to the United States and has "identified a number of processes for ensuring
compliance that are embedded at all levels of their military decision-making," according to the public version of the report, which was submitted to Congress.

"The nature of the conflict in Gaza makes it difficult to assess or make conclusive findings on individual
incidents," it stated.

"Nevertheless, given Israel's significant reliance on US-produced defense articles, it is reasonable to assess that defense articles covered by NSM-20 have been used by Israeli security forces since October 7 in instances inconsistent with its
obligations under international humanitarian law or with established best practices for
mitigating civilian harm," it stated, referring to international humanitarian law.

The report stated that while the Israeli military has the "knowledge, experience, and tools" to minimize harm, "the results on the ground, including the high level of civilian casualties, raise substantial questions about whether the IDF is effectively using them in all instances." But despite some "serious concerns," the report stated that all countries receiving US military aid have provided assurances credible and reliable enough "to allow for the continued provision of defense articles covered by NSM-20."

Other recipients of US military aid covered by the report include Colombia, Iraq, Kenya,
Nigeria, Somalia, and Ukraine.