Biden administration will continue supplying Israel with arms for indiscriminate destruction of Gaza

Biden administration will continue supplying Israel with arms for indiscriminate destruction of Gaza


CNN reports:

The Biden administration currently has no plans to place conditions on the military aid it is providing to Israel, officials told CNN, despite growing calls by Democratic lawmakers and human rights organizations for the US to stop providing weapons unless Israel does more to protect civilians in Gaza.

Speaking to Democratic donors in Washington this week, President Joe Biden acknowledged that he has had tough conversations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about Israel’s military campaign, how Israel is losing international support, and the need for a two-state solution led by the Palestinian Authority. But he said even throughout those discussions, “we’re not going to do a damn thing other than protect Israel in the process. Not a single thing.”

Echoing that sentiment, US officials told CNN that the US has no plans to shift its position and draw any red lines around the transfer of weapons and munitions to Israel. They noted that the administration already expects allies and partners to use US-made equipment in accordance with international humanitarian law and pointed to Israel’s practice of embedding military lawyers with Israel Defense Force units who determine beforehand whether a strike will be proportional and legal.

But rather than independently assess each Israeli strike that the US deems concerning or disproportionate, the US leans on Israel to justify strikes after the fact, a US official said. And while Biden said last month that conditioning aid was a “worthwhile thought,” the president ultimately believes that a strategy of quiet pressure on Israel to change its tactics has been more effective than threatening to withhold weapons, the official said. [Continue reading…]

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