The #Biden admin has concluded it is “reasonable to assess” that #Israel’s military campaign in #Gaza has violated #InternationalLaw, but has not found specific instances that would justify the withholding of #military aid, #State Dept told #Congress Fri.
“#Civilians have been killed in #Gaza as a consequence of those bombs & other ways in which they go after population centers,” #Biden said in an interview airing Wed evening on CNN, referring to 2k-pound #bombs supplied by the #US “I made it clear that if they go into #Rafah — they haven’t gone in…yet — if they go…, I’m not supplying the #weapons that have been used historically to deal …with the cities….”
The #Biden admin paused the shipment of thousands of weapons to #Israel, including controversial 2k-pound bombs, amid mounting concern about the country’s plan to expand a military operation in southern #Gaza that could dramatically increase the conflict’s death toll, U.S. ofcls said Tues.
When asked about the delays earlier Tues, #StateDepartment spox Matthew Miller declined to offer a rationale but said that US support for Israel’s right to defend itself against #Hamas remains intact.
[nonanswer answer]
In Washington, #US military support for #Israel receives overwhelming support from #Republicans & #Democrats in #Congress…
…powerful pro-Israel interest groups including the American Israel Public Affairs Cmte… is spending tens of millions …this #election cycle to unseat #Democrats it views as insufficiently pro- #Israel.
#Republicans assailed news of a delay in #weapons approvals as a “reprehensible” betrayal. “The #UnitedStates must stand with Israel. Period,” said Rep. Russell Fry (R-SC).
In Thur’s call, #Biden “made clear the need for #Israel to announce & implement a series of specific, concrete, & measurable steps to address #civilian harm, #humanitarian suffering, & the safety of #AidWorkers,” acc/to a WH summary of the call. “He made clear that #UnitedStates policy w/respect to #Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel’s immediate action on these steps.”
It marked the 1st time #Biden has indicated a willingness to reassess his unwavering support of #Israel’s campaign in #Gaza, as pressure grows among prominent #Democrats to condition #weapons sales to Israel as the death toll in Gaza has surpassed 32k, acc/to the Gaza Health Ministry. #POTUS’ rhetoric has grown increasingly sharp regarding Israel’s handling of the crisis, but until now he had not directly warned Israel of #consequences if it does not change course.
#Biden added that the #UnitedStates expected to see #Israel not just “announcing” changes, but “executing” & “implementing” them.
The WH summary of the Biden - #Netanyahu call added that #POTUS had told the Israeli prime minister that the #humanitarian situation in #Gaza was “unacceptable” & had called for an “immediate #ceasefire.”
During #Biden’s speech on #healthcare yesterday he was interrupted by protesters advocating for #Palestinians in #Gaza. Instead of ignoring them & moving on, #POTUS responded, “They have a point; we need to get more care into Gaza.” He added, “Everybody deserves healthcare.”
Remarks by #Gallant & #LloydAustin before the meeting underscored the divide. While both noted their countries’ commitment to #Israel’s #security, Gallant emphasized what he said was the urgent need to destroy #Hamas, secure the release of Israeli #hostages & “ensure Israel’s military edge & capabilities.”
#LloydAustin focused on the dire consequences the #war has had for #Palestinian#civilians. “The number of civilian casualties is far too high, & the amount of #HumanitarianAid is far too low,” he said. The safety of #Palestinians in #Rafah, where >1 million people are holed up, was a “top priority,” he added.
Each [of the 7] was given an initial 45 days for a snr ofcl to provide “credible & reliable written assurances” that it will use #UnitedStates defense material in accordance w/ #InternationalHumanitarianLaw & other laws.
The #LawOfWar imposes specific requirements on #targeting, protection of #civilians & treatment of #POWs.
WaPo obtained & reviewed footage from #Thuraya’s drone, which was stored in a memory card recovered at the scene & sent to a production company in #Turkey. No Israeli soldiers, aircraft or other military equipment are visible in the footage taken that day
The Post is publishing Drone footage shot by #MustafaThuraya less than an hour before he & fellow #journalist#HamzaDahdouh were killed in a targeted #Israel airstrike in its entirety — raising critical questions about why the #journalists were targeted. Fellow #reporters said they were unaware of troop movements in the area.
An appeals court ordered the Dutch government to cease exports of F-35 components to Israel, saying “there is a clear risk that the F-35 parts to be exported will be used in committing serious violations of international humanitarian law.”
"The current desecration of Gaza is the latest stage in a process that has taken increasingly violent forms over time.
In the fifty-six years since it occupied the Strip in 1967, Israel has transformed Gaza from a territory politically and economically integrated with Israel and the West Bank into an isolated enclave, from a functional economy to a dysfunctional one, from a productive society to an impoverished one. It has likewise removed Gaza’s residents from the sphere of politics, transforming them from a people with a nationalist claim to a population whose majority requires some form of humanitarian aid to sustain themselves."
Ugandan academic Mahmood Mamdani sees a link between the violence of the coloniser and the slaughter of Jews and Slavs by the Nazis. The racial theories of Houston Stewart Chamberlain and others who claimed the Aryan race was superior meant that Jews and Slavs, who were both regarded as not Aryan, could be placed beyond the pale of civilisation and were thus candidates for the “laws of nature”, not of war.