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center for civilians in conflict
Groups Say Biden's Own Policy Requires US to Stop Arming Israel
"International and U.S. law, as well as your administration's policies including NSM-20," said the groups, "require suspending weapons transfers to the Israeli government."
Sep 04, 2024
As U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller was telling reporters on Tuesday that assessments regarding whether Israel is abiding by international humanitarian law in Gaza are ongoing, more than two dozen rights groups were telling the Biden administration that it need look no further than its own memo released months ago to see that the U.S. must end its support for the Israeli military.
Groups including Amnesty International, the Center for Civilians in Conflict, and Refugees International were among 25 organizations that signed a letter sent Tuesday to President Joe Biden; Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee; and their foreign policy advisers. The letter was sent a day after the British government announced it was suspending 30 arms export licenses for Israel, citing "a clear risk that they might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law."
The letter pointed out that it's been nearly four months since the administration released its report on May 10 on National Security Memorandum 20 (NSM-20), which "concluded that U.S.-provided arms had likely been used by Israeli security forces in manners 'inconsistent with its IHL [international humanitarian law] obligations.'"
NSM-20, issued in February, required Secretary of State Antony Blinken to confirm that countries using U.S. weapons—including Israel, which has received more than 100 military transfers from the U.S. since last October—are not blocking U.S. humanitarian aid and are using the weapons in accordance with international law.
The groups on Tuesday noted that despite the finding in the May 10 report, the administration claimed that Israel's assurances that it had not used U.S. weapons in strikes that violated international law were "credible and reliable," and that the U.S. would not suspend weapons transfers at that time.
The claim that Israel's assurances were credible was in direct opposition to a leaked internal memo in which four State Department officials said they had "serious concern over non-compliance" with international law.
"Since your May 10 report, the U.N. estimates a 300% increase in acute malnutrition in Northern Gaza."
The official assessment released in May also "stood in stark contrast to the realities in Gaza and across occupied Palestine and appeared to blatantly disregard both the requirements of U.S. law and policy and extensive documentation submitted by human rights and humanitarian organizations and independent experts," reads the new letter, citing reports by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and other groups that detailed how U.S. weapons have been used in attacks that killed civilians and could constitute war crimes.
Moreover, the letter states, "the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza has only worsened" since the NSM-20 report, but the U.S. policy of providing "virtually unconditional military support for the Israeli government continues."
The letter notes that the U.S. continues to support the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) despite continued restrictions on aid flowing into Gaza by Israel, with the level of aid entering Gaza through the Karem Abu Salem crossing dropping by more than 80% over the past three months.
"As a result of the compounding access and delivery challenges, malnutrition and the perpetual risk of famine remains rampant across Gaza," wrote the groups. "Since your May 10 report, the U.N. estimates a 300% increase in acute malnutrition in Northern Gaza, while the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, the leading analyst on food insecurity, found in June that all of Gaza is at high risk of famine and 96% of the population is currently food insecure."
Annie Shiel, U.S. advocacy director for the Center for Civilians in Conflict, noted that the Biden administration's continued military support for Israel as famine takes hold of Gaza may violate the Humanitarian Aid Corridor Act—Section 620I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961.
The Biden administration's continued support for the IDF sends "a political signal of unconditional support for Israel's conduct," said Shiel. "The U.S. has the leverage to bring about a cease-fire—but chooses not to use it."
The letter on Tuesday also pointed to numerous reports that U.S.-made weapons have been used by Israel in attacks that killed civilians since May 10, including:
- A strike that used U.S.-made GBU-39 guided bombs on a camp for internally displaced people in west Rafah on May 26, killing at least 36 people, including six children;
- A July 9 airstrike on a school that killed at least 27 people and used an American small-diameter bomb; and
- An August 10 attack on a school in Gaza City that was being used as a shelter, which killed 93 people using a U.S. small-diameter bomb.
"These developments should compel the United States to suspend arms transfers to the Israeli government under the Conventional Arms Transfer policy, which prohibits arms transfers when 'the United States assesses that it is more likely than not that the arms to be transferred will be used by the recipient to commit, facilitate the recipients' commission of, or to aggravate risks that the recipient will commit' serious violations of international humanitarian or human rights law," wrote the groups.
The organizations urged "an immediate, public review of Israel's compliance with NSM-20, accounting for the numerous apparent violations of international law and restrictions on humanitarian aid documented by civil society and the media since May 10 and throughout the NSM-20 reporting period."
As U.S. support continues, said the groups, "the risk of United States' and U.S. officials' complicity in Israeli violations of international law due to U.S. arms transfers has only increased."
"We urgently call upon your administration to change its approach and suspend weapons transfers to Israel, which continue to cause devastating harm and risk making the United States complicit in war crimes," they wrote. "International and U.S. law, as well as your administration's policies including NSM-20, require suspending weapons transfers to the Israeli government."
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As Gaza Death Toll Tops 40,000, Congress Urged to Block New Weapons to Israel
"U.S. arms transfers to Israel have fueled unimaginable suffering in Gaza, including staggering levels of civilian harm," said one embargo advocate.
Aug 15, 2024
As the Palestinian death toll from Israel's 314-day assault on Gaza passed 40,000—a figure Palestinian and United Ntions officials say is made up of mostly women and children and is likely a vast undercount—human rights groups this week decried the Biden administration's approval of $20 billion worth of new weapons for Israel and renewed pleas for Congress to block further arms transfers to the nation's far-right government.
On Tuesday—just days after Israeli forces used at least one U.S.-supplied bomb in an airstrike on a Gaza City school that killed scores of forcibly displaced Palestinian civilians sheltering there—the Biden administration notified Congress of the pending sale of a new weapons package that includes dozens of F-15 fighter jets, tens of thousands of 120mm mortar shells, over 32,700 tank shells, and 30 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles.
Since October, Congress and the Biden administration have approved more than $14 billion in unconditional military aid to Israel. President Joe Biden has signed off on more than 100 arms transfers to Israel during that period. This, atop the $3.8 billion in annual armed aid the U.S. already gives to the key Middle Eastern ally.
"Israel used U.S.-made weapons in May when it slaughtered Palestinian families sheltering in tent camps in Rafah," Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) said Wednesday. "Israel used U.S.-made weapons when it bombed the al-Mutanabbi school in Khan Younis in early July, killing over two dozen displaced Palestinians seeking refuge there. And it used U.S.-made weapons on Saturday to murder over 100 Palestinians while they prayed."
"Biden continues to send weapons to Israel, and both political parties—Republicans and Democrats—have cheered on the Israeli government's slaughter and genocide of Palestinians in Gaza," JVP continued. "This is a U.S.-perpetrated genocide as much as it is an Israeli one."
"But the Democratic voting base is calling for something different, and we have seen the progressive and increasingly mainstream wing of the party begin to echo this need," the group said. "We are playing a critical role in driving the Democratic Party to finally catch up to the demands of its own base."
"Right now, we have an opportunity to re-center Gaza in the national conversation and continue building pressure on the Biden administration, on [Vice President] Kamala Harris, and on Democratic members of Congress to support an immediate arms embargo," JVP added.
While Harris has expressed sympathy for Palestinians suffering what she called a "humanitarian catastrophe" in Gaza, the vice president and Democratic presidential nominee, like Biden, has proclaimed her "unwavering" support for Israel. One aide said last week that Harris does not support an arms embargo.
"The decision to approve yet another massive sale of arms to Israel is appalling and a blatant violation of U.S. and international law and policy," Annie Shiel, the U.S. advocacy director at the Center for Civilians in Conflict, said on Thursday.
"U.S. arms transfers to Israel have fueled unimaginable suffering in Gaza, including staggering levels of civilian harm, the destruction of civilian infrastructure, and an ever-growing humanitarian catastrophe," Shiel continued. "The U.S. is complicit in this devastation."
"Congress must block these sales, including through the introduction of joint resolutions of disapproval," she added, "and the Biden-Harris administration must finally end U.S. arms transfers and use its leverage to bring about an immediate cease-fire."
The international anti-poverty NGO ActionAid said Thursday: "We are outraged and heartbroken by the staggering loss of 40,000 lives in Gaza. It is a number that is incomprehensible—every life lost is an individual tragedy."
"But this is not an inevitable one, it is an ongoing atrocity, and it could have been prevented," the group continued. "Most governments across the world have refused to do the bare minimum to protect civilian life and it is to our collective shame. We are losing confidence each day in the concept of justice."
"We reiterate our calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities and urge all governments to meet their obligations under international law and use all available means to take immediate and decisive action to ensure the safety and security of all civilians," ActionAid said.
"We call for the imposition of sanctions, including travel bans and asset freezes, on Israeli officials linked to alleged violations of international humanitarian law," the NGO added. "Every day that you choose to avoid this as a reality, this death toll will keep rising until there is nobody left in Gaza alive."
In addition to the South Africa-led genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan has applied for warrants to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and for three Hamas leaders, at least one of whom has been assassinated by Israeli forces.
The Biden administration and numerous members of Congress have condemned the courts' pursuit of justice for Israel and its leaders. In June, 42 Democrats joined nearly every Republican in the House of Representatives in passing a bill that would sanction ICC officials over Khan's application for arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant.
In addition to rights groups, a coalition of journalists, news outlets, and press freedom organizations on Thursday implored the Biden administration to immediately halt arms transfers to Israel.
As the tight 2024 presidential race between Harris and former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, heads toward the home stretch, a survey commissioned by the Institute for Middle Eastern Understanding Policy Project and conducted by YouGov revealed this week that Democratic and Independent voters in the key swing states of Arizona, Georgia, and Pennsylvania would be more willing to vote for Harris if she backed an arms embargo on Israel.
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'Enough Is Enough': Former Top Sanders Aide Urges Israel Arms Embargo
"It is time for President Biden and U.S. partners to finally use their leverage to end this catastrophe."
Feb 29, 2024
As the death toll from Israel's war on the Gaza Strip topped 30,000 on Thursday, President Joe Biden faced renewed pressure to immediately cut off U.S. diplomatic and weapons support for the nearly five-month Israeli assault.
"President Biden must say 'enough is enough' and finally end U.S. support for and complicity in the ongoing carnage in Gaza," said Matt Duss, a former top aide to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) who is now executive vice president at the Center for International Policy.
"Importantly, he should suspend transfers to Israel of the arms it is using in Gaza," Duss argued, "as he is already obligated to do under U.S. law given the obvious reality—including an open admission by Israeli Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu—that the Israeli government is limiting the amount of humanitarian aid delivered to the territory."
"U.S. security assistance has enabled catastrophic civilian harm in Gaza in a way that appears to violate existing U.S. law and policy."
Since Israeli forces began bombarding Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on October 7, the Biden administration has repeatedly vetoed United Nations cease-fire resolutions, bypassed Congress to send weapons, and sought over $14 billion atop the $3.8 billion in annual military aid that Israel already gets from the United States.
Duss stressed that Biden should continue efforts to secure a cease-fire, the release of all hostages, and a surge in humanitarian aid. He said that "diplomacy must be prioritized not only as a means of reaching peace, but in order to uphold our own principles. The ongoing provision of arms to Israel despite its open hindrance of humanitarian efforts is a clear departure from those principles."
"A full cease-fire and massive humanitarian relief effort is not just a moral necessity but a security one," he added, warning of the growing risk of a regional conflict. "Nearly five months of slaughter and starvation of civilians in Gaza, and the continued holding and abuse of Israeli hostages, must not continue. It is time for President Biden and U.S. partners to finally use their leverage to end this catastrophe."
After Israeli forces reportedly opened fire on starving Palestinians in Gaza on Thursday, Trita Parsi, executive vice president at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, said on social media that "Biden's deference to Israel brought this about. Biden has put zero material pressure on Netanyahu."
Rather than using his leverage to "force Israel to let in the aid, Biden instead caves to Netanyahu and considers airdropping aid," Parsi continued. "What a humiliation! Imagine if Biden from the outset had decided NOT to give Israel a blank check?"
The Washington, D.C.-based Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC) similarly released a Thursday statement calling on the United States to "urgently leverage security assistance to push for civilian protection, de-escalation, and an immediate cease-fire."
"The U.S. is Israel's closest ally and provider of billions of dollars of security assistance annually," the group said. "U.S. security assistance has enabled catastrophic civilian harm in Gaza in a way that appears to violate existing U.S. law and policy. The U.S. has publicly pressed Israel on civilian protection; however, without using its leverage by conditioning aid, these messages will continue to be ignored."
CIVIC and over a dozen other groups—including Amnesty International, Oxfam, and Save the Children—last month jointly called on all U.N. member states to "immediately halt the transfer of weapons, parts, and ammunition to Israel and Palestinian armed groups while there is risk they are used to commit or facilitate serious violations of international humanitarian or human rights law."
U.S.-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Thursday also called for ending the flow of weapons, responding to a recent report from the U.N. high commissioner for human rights about the occupied Palestinian territories.
"The heinous crimes carried out by Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups since October 7 are the abhorrent legacy of decadeslong impunity for unlawful attacks by all parties and Israel's crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution against Palestinians," the group said. "The international community's long-standing unwillingness to act to hold perpetrators to account has fueled grave abuses."
"As Israeli authorities contemplate forcing the over 1 million Palestinians in Rafah to again flee when there's nowhere safe in Gaza—a move that would be unlawful and have catastrophic consequences—states should act to prevent further atrocities," HRW asserted.
Both HRW and Amnesty have said this week that Israel is defying the International Court of Justice, which last month issued binding provisional measures in the ongoing South Africa-led genocide case against the country. Meanwhile, a U.S. case about Biden and other top officials' complicity in genocide is moving through the federal appeals process.
"States should use all forms of leverage, including targeted sanctions and an arms embargo, to press the Israeli government to comply with the binding order and to press the Israeli government and Palestinian armed groups to end unlawful attacks and other grave abuses," HRW said Thursday. "The lives of millions of civilians hang in the balance."
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