World

US lawmakers await Biden administration report on Israeli weapons use

2024.05.07 16:03

US lawmakers await Biden administration report on Israeli weapons use

By Patricia Zengerle, Humeyra Pamuk and Simon Lewis

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Joe Biden’s administration is to report to U.S. lawmakers as soon as Wednesday on whether Israel is violating international humanitarian law or obstructing aid deliveries in Gaza, findings that could fuel concerns over its use of U.S.-supplied weapons against the Palestinian enclave.

A National Security Memorandum, known as NSM-20, Biden issued in February requires the State Department to report to Congress by May 8 on whether it finds credible Israel’s assurances that its use of U.S. weapons does not violate U.S. or international law.

Three sources said on Tuesday the administration had informed congressional committees that it would not make the deadline, but hoped to present its findings within days. Two congressional aides said they had no indication the delay was tied to political concerns.

Reuters reported last month that some senior U.S. officials do not find Israel’s assurances credible. The Reuters report, along with investigations by outside organizations like Amnesty International, has prompted some lawmakers to call on the Biden administration not to tilt the report toward Israel.

“I’ve had a lot of conversations… with folks in the administration, really urging them to make sure that this report is credible, that it’s seen to be based on facts and law and not based on what they would wish it would be,” Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen told reporters.

Washington’s provision of military assistance to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has prompted protests across the U.S. demanding that universities and Biden withdraw support for Israel, including sending weaponry.

3rd party Ad. Not an offer or recommendation by Investing.com. See disclosure here or
remove ads
.

In Washington, many of Biden’s fellow Democrats have called for a shift in long-standing U.S. policy of providing unconditional military support to the Jewish state.

On Tuesday, sources told Reuters that Biden’s administration has been holding up certain arms shipments to Israel, in what two of the sources said was an apparent political message to the U.S. ally.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told a news briefing on Tuesday the NSM-20 report was not yet finished but the department was working “very hard” to complete it. “It’s possible it slips just a little bit but we’re still, at this point, trying to get it done by tomorrow,” he said.

The memorandum bars any recipient of U.S. military assistance from restricting the delivery of humanitarian aid.

The report deadline comes amid concern about famine in Gaza and calls from the United States, other governments and international bodies for Israel to hold off from a big offensive against Rafah, a city in Gaza Israel calls Hamas fighters’ last stronghold but is also the refuge of more than one million displaced Palestinian civilians.



Source link

Related Articles

Back to top button
bitcoin
Bitcoin (BTC) $ 96,179.77 2.52%
ethereum
Ethereum (ETH) $ 3,301.76 4.90%
tether
Tether (USDT) $ 1.00 0.19%
solana
Solana (SOL) $ 245.11 5.94%
bnb
BNB (BNB) $ 645.74 3.89%
xrp
XRP (XRP) $ 1.32 15.63%
dogecoin
Dogecoin (DOGE) $ 0.403687 11.52%
usd-coin
USDC (USDC) $ 0.999032 0.12%
cardano
Cardano (ADA) $ 0.954242 14.15%
staked-ether
Lido Staked Ether (STETH) $ 3,299.74 4.97%
tron
TRON (TRX) $ 0.202242 7.53%
avalanche-2
Avalanche (AVAX) $ 38.95 10.03%
the-open-network
Toncoin (TON) $ 5.90 5.97%
shiba-inu
Shiba Inu (SHIB) $ 0.000025 9.70%
wrapped-steth
Wrapped stETH (WSTETH) $ 3,916.37 4.63%
stellar
Stellar (XLM) $ 0.45668 11.21%
wrapped-bitcoin
Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) $ 96,034.73 2.57%
polkadot
Polkadot (DOT) $ 8.33 5.69%
chainlink
Chainlink (LINK) $ 16.46 7.39%
bitcoin-cash
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) $ 488.69 6.94%
weth
WETH (WETH) $ 3,299.79 4.88%
sui
Sui (SUI) $ 3.28 8.72%
pepe
Pepe (PEPE) $ 0.000019 10.80%
near
NEAR Protocol (NEAR) $ 6.30 2.61%
leo-token
LEO Token (LEO) $ 8.34 3.68%
litecoin
Litecoin (LTC) $ 92.72 10.08%
aptos
Aptos (APT) $ 11.73 10.24%
uniswap
Uniswap (UNI) $ 10.21 9.14%
wrapped-eeth
Wrapped eETH (WEETH) $ 3,479.92 4.78%
hedera-hashgraph
Hedera (HBAR) $ 0.137174 14.21%
usds
USDS (USDS) $ 0.999792 0.02%
internet-computer
Internet Computer (ICP) $ 10.52 11.00%
crypto-com-chain
Cronos (CRO) $ 0.180047 8.69%
polygon-ecosystem-token
POL (ex-MATIC) (POL) $ 0.529752 11.58%
ethereum-classic
Ethereum Classic (ETC) $ 27.27 11.04%
ethena-usde
Ethena USDe (USDE) $ 1.00 0.15%
render-token
Render (RENDER) $ 7.33 9.58%
fetch-ai
Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (FET) $ 1.43 0.05%
kaspa
Kaspa (KAS) $ 0.146895 8.92%
bittensor
Bittensor (TAO) $ 492.94 8.07%
whitebit
WhiteBIT Coin (WBT) $ 24.33 1.86%
dai
Dai (DAI) $ 0.999057 0.12%
arbitrum
Arbitrum (ARB) $ 0.804235 7.76%
mantra-dao
MANTRA (OM) $ 3.65 2.55%
bonk
Bonk (BONK) $ 0.000044 13.17%
celestia
Celestia (TIA) $ 7.65 15.66%
vechain
VeChain (VET) $ 0.039401 11.98%
filecoin
Filecoin (FIL) $ 5.27 2.79%
cosmos
Cosmos Hub (ATOM) $ 8.13 5.23%
okb
OKB (OKB) $ 52.07 0.06%