By Ali Karbalaei
Leaked document highlights concern within the State Department
TEHRAN - An internal U.S. State Department memo, leaked to the media, shows senior officials have informed Secretary of State Antony Blinken that they believe the Israelis are not complying with international law.
The document, first reviewed by Reuters, highlights strong concern inside the State Department with Blinken being advised that Israeli assurances that its army is using U.S.-supplied weapons in Gaza in accordance with international humanitarian law are neither “credible nor reliable”.
Citing the Israeli military’s repeated assaults on civilian infrastructure in Gaza, the killing of “humanitarian workers and journalists at an unprecedented rate,” as well as Tel Aviv’s refusal to investigate or punish those responsible for atrocities raises “serious concern over non-compliance” with international law.
Israeli measures to arbitrarily reject humanitarian aid trucks from entering the Gaza Strip, which has fueled famine in the enclave, is pointed out in the leaked memo.
Also revealed in the document is a submission by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which advises the State Department that the Israeli government itself believes that most of the people killed by its forces in Gaza are civilians.
“The killing of nearly 32,000 people, of which the GOI (Government of Israel) itself assesses roughly two-thirds are civilian, may well amount to a violation of the international humanitarian law requirement,” the memo cites USAID as saying.
The National Security Memorandum was issued in the month of February, according to Reuters.
The number of Palestinians killed by the Israeli military in Gaza has climbed to more than 34,400. The majority of the victims have been women and children, according to the Gaza health ministry.
By May 8, Blinken is set to report to Congress over whether he believes Israeli assurances to the White House that U.S.-supplied bombs are being dropped on Gaza in accordance with international law as well as U.S. legislation.
A State Department spokesperson has said that the agency does not comment on leaked documents.
While the memo also cites agencies and officials who voice support for U.S. military aid to continue flowing to the Israeli military without restrictions, the document shows there are strongly conflicting views on the matter within the State Department.
International bodies, including UN agencies and human rights organizations, have been documenting Israeli war crimes in Gaza with the support of U.S. military assistance, as
well as the systematic obstruction of aid supplies to civilians for more than half a year.
The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden has come under heavy pressure domestically and globally to halt the U.S. military aid to the Israeli occupation.
Biden has refused to do so and his administration successfully lobbied Congress last week to pass a bill that includes additional lethal military aid to the Israeli occupation to the tune of more than $17 billion despite growing calls to impose restrictions.
The support has led to public anger boiling with students in universities across America revolting against the U.S. relationship with the Israeli occupation regime.
The latest admission of possible Israeli war crimes by its staunchest supporter, the United States, comes as officials in Tel Aviv have pledged to push ahead with a ground invasion into Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza that is home to more than one million Palestinians seeking shelter.
The United Nations has led international warnings against an Israeli ground offensive in Rafah while also leading growing calls for a ceasefire.
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