Gaza War Puts New Pressures on U.S. Arms Transfer Policies

1 week ago 9

You person a preview presumption of this nonfiction portion we are checking your access. When we person confirmed access, the afloat nonfiction contented volition load.

  • liveUpdates

    May 7, 2024, 12:26 p.m. ET

  • Photos
  • Cease-Fire Talks
  • Rafah Invasion Looms
  • U.S. Efforts to Broker a Deal
  • Roots of the Conflict

The Biden medication is owed to merchandise a study this week connected whether it believes assurances from Israel connected its usage of U.S. arms and extortion of civilians.

Two Israeli soldiers successful  subject   uniforms clasp  weapons and ticker  arsenic  a subject   motortruck  drives distant  connected  a dusty roadworthy  successful  Gaza.
Israeli soldiers successful Gaza. President Biden’s critics accidental helium is making a governmental determination to flout U.S. instrumentality and his ain administration’s directives successful the lawsuit of Israel.Credit...Avishag Shaar-Yashuv for The New York Times

Michael Crowley

May 7, 2024, 12:44 p.m. ET

In February of past year, President Biden changed the U.S. modular for cutting disconnected weapons deliveries to overseas militaries that harm civilians during wartime.

Under the caller arms transportation policy, Mr. Biden said countries that were “more apt than not” to interruption planetary instrumentality oregon quality rights with American weapons should not person them. Previously, U.S. officials were required to amusement “actual knowledge” of specified violations, a higher barroom to clear.

A fewer months later, successful August, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken issued a directive instructing State Department officials overseas to analyse incidents of civilian harm by overseas militaries utilizing American weapons and urge responses that could see halting arms deliveries.

Hamas attacked Israel 2 months later, triggering the warfare successful Gaza and plunging Mr. Biden and Mr. Blinken into an aggravated planetary statement astir however Israel is utilizing U.S. arms. To Mr. Biden’s critics, his steadfast refusal to bounds arms deliveries to Israel runs antagonistic to those initiatives and severely undermines his extremity of positioning the United States arsenic a protector of civilians successful wartime.

His policies look caller tests this week. Israel is threatening to invade Rafah, a metropolis successful confederate Gaza, against Mr. Biden’s steadfast opposition. And the Biden medication plans to present a study to Congress this week assessing whether it believes Israel’s assurances that it has utilized American weapons successful accordance with U.S. and planetary law.

If the study finds that Israel has violated the law, Mr. Biden could restrict arms deliveries. Eighty-eight House Democrats wrote to Mr. Biden past week questioning the credibility of Israel’s assurances and urging him “to instrumentality each conceivable steps to forestall further humanitarian catastrophe successful Gaza.”


Thank you for your patience portion we verify access. If you are successful Reader mode delight exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for each of The Times.


Thank you for your patience portion we verify access.

Already a subscriber? Log in.

Want each of The Times? Subscribe.

Read Entire Article