Israeli claims over legal use of US weapons 'not credible'

Israel's claim that it abides by US humanitarian regulations governing weapons transfers is "not credible," two major international nongovernmental organisations have found.

As a result of their findings, contained in a joint report submitted to the US government, Human Rights Watch and Oxfam on Tuesday called on President Joe Biden to "follow US law and immediately suspend arms transfers to Israel."

Their submission comes just over a month after President Joe Biden issued a directive requiring that recipients of US arms provide "credible and reliable" written assurances that they are adhering to international protections for civilians.

It comes after the organisations investigated Israel's application of the US National Security Memorandum-20. This requires any state that receives arms transfers from the US to avoid violations of international humanitarian law and arbitrary blocking of US humanitarian assistance.

During their investigations of Israeli activities in Gaza and Lebanon since October, the organisations said they found significant evidence that Israel is failing to meet the requirements of NSM-20.

"There are good reasons why US law prohibits arms support for governments that block life-saving aid or violate international law with US weapons," said Sarah Yager, Washington director at Human Rights Watch. 

"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 report highlighted several Israeli violations of international humanitarian law, including the use of US-supplied white phosphorus munitions and indiscriminate strikes on or near major hospitals in Gaza.

In addition, it said Israel had engaged in "systematic blocking of assistance, including aid substantially provided by the US, from reaching about 300,000 Palestinians remaining in northern Gaza."

Vital water infrastructure has also been bombarded, again in clear violation of humanitarian law, HRW and Oxfam added.

The organisations accused Israel of submitting faulty "assurances" to the US State Department concerning its adherence to NSM-20. Researchers said they were "confident that the examples we cite here reflect a broader pattern of conduct than is currently being assessed by the US government."

As part of the requirements of NSM-20, countries supplied with American arms must submit assurances to the departments of State and Defense, to be reviewed and assessed by top officials. But based on their public statements, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin appear to have accepted the Israeli assurances, despite mounting evidence of humanitarian violations in Gaza and Lebanon.

Both officials must also consider "expected future violations" when judging the credibility of the Israeli submissions, HRW and Oxfam said.

Their report follows growing international concerns of an "imminent" famine in northern Gaza. The US has resorted to airdrops in the absence of sufficient access to routes for the delivery of humanitarian aid by road in the enclave, many of which effectively have been blocked by Israeli authorities.

Scott Paul, associate director for peace and security at Oxfam America, said: "We have laid out clearly for the Biden administration why any assurances from Israel that they have not delayed, restricted and impeded aid into Gaza cannot be relied upon. Despite this, the US has continued to provide Israel with deadly weapons.

"The time has long passed for the Biden administration to end lethal arms sales to Israel, and we call on them to do so now and work to end the death and suffering in Gaza."