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Secretary of State Antony Blinken defended the Biden administration’s judgement on Israel’s military conduct as his department faced criticism this week for its assessment of war crime allegations. A state department report, published on Friday, indicated that US officials believe Israel has, in some cases, violated international humanitarian laws regarding the treatment of civilians in Gaza.
However, the report stopped short of directly finding Israel in violation of its weapons-trading agreement with Washington, allowing the administration some leeway around charges that US law is being violated. Mr. Blinken faced tough rounds of questioning over the report on Sunday’s political shows.
He was asked by Kristen Welker on NBC’s Meet the Press whether the US is applying a lighter standard to Israel’s government than it would to another US ally or trading partner. Mr. Blinken replied, “We don’t have double standards. We treat Israel, one of our closest allies and partners, just as we would treat any other country, including in assessing something like international humanitarian law, and its compliance with that law.”
The report concluded it was “reasonable” to assess that Israel had violated international humanitarian laws in some instances. Such laws govern the conduct of war for all countries, such as forbidding the intentional targeting of civilians or the practice of prohibiting deliveries of food, water, or medical assistance to civilian populations.
On CBS’ Face the Nation, the secretary said assessments of Israel’s conduct would be “ongoing” in the weeks ahead as Israel’s government appears to be preparing for an all-out assault on Rafah, a major civilian center where more than a million refugees have fled from fighting in northern Gaza.
The Biden administration has come out strongly against such an operation, with President Biden indicating that his administration would hold up further weapons shipments if the Israeli military began a full-scale assault on the city. The administration has already held up one shipment of weapons to Israel, but Mr. Blinken made clear that transfers of precision arms were still ongoing.
As the conflict in Gaza continues and the death toll rises, a growing number of Democrats are calling for the president to stop all weapons transfers to Israel. Senator Bernie Sanders and Senator Chris Van Hollen are among those urging the US to apply the “Leahy law” to Israel, which prohibits transfers of US weapons to countries found to be committing war crimes.
The situation in Gaza remains tense, with the possibility of a prolonged siege of Rafah on the horizon. The Biden administration continues to navigate the delicate balance of supporting Israel while also addressing concerns about civilian casualties and international law violations.
