Some US officials say in internal memo Israel may be violating international law in Gaza
Antony Blinken that they do not find «credible or reliable» Israel's assurances that it is using U.S.-supplied weapons in accordance with international humanitarian law, according to an internal State Department memo reviewed by Reuters.
Other officials upheld support for Israel's representation.
Under a National Security Memorandum (NSM) issued by President Joe Biden in February, Blinken must report to Congress by May 8 whether he finds credible Israel's assurances that its use of U.S. weapons does not violate U.S. or international law.
By March 24, at least seven State Department bureaus had sent in their contributions to an initial «options memo» to Blinken. Parts of the memo, which has not been previously reported, were classified.
The submissions to the memo provide the most extensive picture to date of the divisions inside the State Department over whether Israel might be violating international humanitarian law in Gaza.
«Some components in the department favored accepting Israel's assurances, some favored rejecting them and some took no position,» a U.S. official said.
A joint submission from four bureaus — Democracy Human Rights & Labor; Population, Refugees and Migration; Global Criminal Justice and International Organization Affairs — raised «serious concern over non-compliance» with international humanitarian law during Israel's prosecution of the Gaza war.
The assessment from the four bureaus said Israel's assurances were «neither credible
