ANP Productions | Source: ANP
Today at 03:22
Washington
Israel may have violated international humanitarian law, according to a report sent to Congress by the US State Department on Friday. But it found insufficient evidence of such violations to pause or stop U.S. arms shipments to Israel.
Because Israel uses so many American weapons, the report says it is “reasonable to believe” that Israeli forces have deployed these weapons in ways that violate international humanitarian law.
However, the US State Department was unable to verify whether the laws of war had been violated in specific cases because Israel had shared “incomplete information”. As a result, it could not be determined whether this had happened during military operations in Gaza, East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
The US government says it still finds Israel’s guarantees that it will use US weapons in compliance with the laws of war credible and reliable, because it could not identify any violations.
US President Joe Biden decided earlier this week to stop supplying certain heavy bombs to Israel if it continues the siege of the city of Rafah. The Foreign Affairs report does not contradict that decision.
