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The Biden administration said this Friday that it is “reasonable to consider” that Israeli forces used US weapons in Gaza in a manner “inconsistent” with international humanitarian law, but stopped short of officially saying that Israel violated the law. has been violated.

The report, prepared by the State Department, said possible violations were being investigated, but noted that the United States “does not have complete information to verify” whether alleged violations of international humanitarian law involved U.S. citizens. The weapons “were specifically used”.

“Given the nature of the conflict in Gaza, Hamas wishes to hide behind civilian populations and infrastructure and expose them to Israeli military action, as well as the lack of U.S. government personnel on the ground in Gaza, assessing It is difficult to reach a definitive conclusion. However, given Israel’s considerable reliance on US-made defense objects, it is reasonable to consider that Israeli security forces have used NSM-20 defense objects in inconsequential cases since October 7. “Practices to minimize harm to civilians,” the report said, “in keeping with their obligations under international humanitarian law or in keeping with established best practices.”

The report, which covers the beginning of the war with Hamas from October 7 to late April, does not conclude that Israel violated US law by withholding humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Although the report does not believe that Israel violated any of the terms of the memorandum, it strongly criticizes the balance of the Israeli military campaign. The report’s findings mark another moment of tension in US-Israel relations the same week that President Joe Biden threatened to restrict arms transfers if Israel moves forward with a major offensive in Rafah.

Nevertheless, the final conclusion, namely that the assurances given by Israel under the National Security Memorandum are “credible and trustworthy”, will likely draw scrutiny from some lawmakers and humanitarian and human rights organizations.

The report does not compel the Israeli government to take any action, and does not lead to any changes in policy. The administration has largely refrained from restricting military aid to Israel, but in a significant change before the report was released, Biden said publicly in an interview with CNN this week that if Israel launches a major offensive into Gaza City attacks, the transfer of some aggressor will be prohibited. arms to israel

The high-risk report was declassified Friday afternoon and transmitted to the Capitol. The administration was required to make a decision on those two cases under a February national security memo that Biden issued under pressure from Democratic lawmakers. It was the first time the US government had to assess Israel’s conduct in the seven-month war with Hamas in Gaza, which began with the terrorist group’s brutal assault on October 7 that killed more than 34,000 people and most The coastal area was destroyed.

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