Biden report finds Israeli vows on lawful use of US arms credible, but ‘reasonable’ to assess otherwise

In a highly anticipated and somewhat convoluted report to Congress, the Biden administration says it finds Israel’s assurances credible and reliable that it will use US weapons in accordance with international humanitarian law, amid its ongoing war in Gaza against Hamas.

However, in the strongest such statement from Biden officials, the State Department report also says it’s “reasonable” to assess that Israel has used US-supplied weapons in instances that are “inconsistent” with its international humanitarian law obligations, but that it does not have complete information to verify that American weapons were used in specific actions that were alleged to be breaches of international humanitarian law.

The State Department was asked to deliver to Congress under a new National Security Memorandum (NSM) that US President Joe Biden issued in early February, whether it finds credible Israel’s assurances that its use of American weapons does not violate US or international law.

“Embassies Bogota, Baghdad, Jerusalem, Nairobi, Abuja, Mogadishu, and Kyiv obtained the required assurances signed by the designated representatives of their respective countries, which were in turn reviewed by the State Department in order to determine credibility and reliability by March 24, 2024,” the State Department writes.

“While in some countries there have been circumstances over the reporting period that raise serious concerns, the USG currently assesses the assurances provided by each recipient country to be credible and reliable so as to allow the provision of defense articles covered under NSM-20 to continue,” the report states.

It notes, however: “Israel has not shared complete information to verify whether US defense articles covered under NSM-20 were specifically used in actions that have been alleged as violations of IHL or IHRL in Gaza, or in the West Bank and East Jerusalem during the period of the report.”

And it adds: “Nevertheless, given Israel’s significant reliance on US-made defense articles, it is reasonable to assess that defense articles covered under NSM-20 have been used by Israeli security forces since October 7 in instances inconsistent with its IHL obligations or with established best practices for mitigating civilian harm.”