From the Liveblog of
Friday, February 9, 2024
AIPAC pans US directive requiring aid recipients to provide assurance of adherence to int’l law
Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee comes out against the memorandum issued yesterday by the Biden administration requiring all allies who receive military aid from the US to provide “credible and reliable written assurances” of their adherence to international law, including international human rights law.
The memo doesn’t specify any particular country, but it was issued amid increasing calls in the US to condition aid to Israel due to concerns that American weapons are being used in the killing of civilians in Gaza.
AIPAC calls the memo “an unnecessary directive that imposes new requirements on Israel and our other most important allies.”
“As Israel continues its battle against Hamas, Hezbollah, and other Iranian proxies, our focus should be on support for our ally,” AIPAC says.
“Israel is a moral army fighting in an unprecedented, complex urban battlefield in compliance with international law. It’s confronting a terror group that deliberately and despicably uses innocent Palestinians as human shields, hides among and below civilians, and continues to hold 136 hostages, including 8 Americans,” the lobby adds.
