In a shocking revelation, an impending report from the Biden administration meticulously inspects the deployment of American-supplied weaponry by Israel in Gaza, ultimately finding no breaches of international or U.S. law. This decision comes despite substantial criticism from multiple quarters regarding Israel's tactics in its relentless military engagement with Hamas.
Astoundingly, the report, which is still under wraps and emanates from an order by President Joe Biden, ventures into contentious waters by suggesting that, due to "Israel's substantial dependency on U.S.-made defense articles," it is plausible that some equipment was utilized in ways that might clash with international legal standards. Nevertheless, the administration stops short of outright accusing Israel of misusing American arms in violation of international humanitarian law.
US says Israel may have breached international law using American weapons
ā Global News 24/7 (@Globalnews024) May 11, 2024
Report says it is "reasonable to assess" there have been breaches in Gaza, but admits it does not have "complete information". pic.twitter.com/Y5e8MwhtNj
The exhaustive scrutiny reveals the opaque nature of warfare in Gaza, hindering definitive judgments on specific incidents alleged as breaches of international humanitarian law (IHL) or human rights standards. This ambiguity is compounded by Israel's sophisticated but seemingly underutilized arsenal of "knowledge, experience, and tools" aimed at minimizing civilian casualties. Despite these capabilities, the Hamas-reported number of civilian deaths is being used to cast a long shadow over the effectiveness of these measures. The United States administration is seemingly using statistics from the designated terror group, Hamas that have not just been refuted by statisticians and analysts, as well as having been walked back by the United Nations which ultimately admitted last week that the numbers are unreliable.
Adding to the controversy, the report highlights Israel's initial reluctance to cooperate with U.S. efforts to enhance humanitarian aid delivery in Gaza, although it notes a subsequent improvement in coordination. Israel for its part, has provided video evidence of hundreds of trucks per day entering Gaza, then being taken by militants and the goods on board being sold in Gaza markets. In addition, in some pcitures from the Northern Gaza Erex Crossing, many of the trucks can be seen waiting on the Gaza side for the United Nations to distribute the goods.
Biden report finds Israeli vows on lawful use of US arms credible, but 'reasonable' to think otherwisehttps://t.co/4TYMLQqrJU
ā The Times of Israel (@TimesofIsrael) May 10, 2024
The response to the report from an independent coalition of ex-State Department officials and international law experts is nothing short of scathing. They accuse the U.S. of evading its legal responsibilities, stating that America's military assistance to Israel in Gaza not only constitutes a legal quandary but may also border on complicity in war crimes. They criticize the report as being at best incomplete and at worst deliberately obfuscating, with the intention of shielding wrongful acts potentially amounting to war crimes.
These former officials underscore the catastrophic human toll of the conflict, citing a death toll exceeding 34,000 Palestinians, including over 14,000 children, with the majority purportedly falling victim to U.S. munitions. This grim statistic highlights the grave implications of the U.S. arms supply to Israel, framing the Biden Administration's handling of the issue as a deliberate avoidance of confronting harsh realities, effectively drawing the curtains on a dire humanitarian tragedy.
