The Biden administration has concluded it is “reasonable to assess” that Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has violated international law, but has not found specific instances that would justify the withholding of military aid, the State Department told Congress on Friday.
In the administration’s most detailed assessment of Israel’s conduct in Gaza, the State Department said in a written report to Congress that Israel “has the knowledge, experience and tools to implement best practices for mitigating civilian harm in its military operations.”
But it added that “the results on the ground, including high levels of civilian casualties, raise substantial questions” as to whether the Israel Defense Forces are using them sufficiently.
Yes, it is. Because if our weapons continue to be shipped to Israel and used Gaza, then it would be a violation of federal law to continue those weapons shipments. And yes, any senior government officials still trying to give arms to Israel after that point should be brought to trial.
Nowhere does it say that. This changes nothing.
That’s because the State department typically doesn’t refer to specific statutes when signalling policy changes. To read the laws that I’m referring to, look for the International Traffic in Arms Regulations and the Arms Export Control Act.