State Department poised to rule on future of arms sales to Israel

Dozens of Congressional Democrats have asked that the U.S. threaten to suspend arms sales due to alleged Israeli violations of American conditions.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

The State Department is set to issue a presidentially-mandated report to Congress Wednesday on whether Israel is complying with American rules on its use of U.S. weapons.

If found in violation, Israel could find itself cut off from its main arms supplier.

President Joe Biden issued the National Security Memorandum on Safeguards and Accountability with Respect to Transferred Defense Articles and Defense Services in February.

It demanded that all American allies receiving military aid provide written assurances that they use such aid “according to international law,” including international humanitarian law, and required a periodic “assessment of any credible reports or allegations that defense articles … have been used in a manner not consistent with” these conditions.

Jerusalem supplied a written reassurance in March, which the White House accepted.

Anti-Israel human rights organization Amnesty International USA last week submitted a briefing to the government in which it claimed that the IDF has used American weapons “in serious violation” of what is known as National Security Memorandum (NSM) 20.

After listing a series of examples, such as the alleged use of American bombs that killed civilians in Gaza, and the limitations Israel had put on the entry of humanitarian aid, the group demanded that the Biden administration “immediately suspend any transfer of arms to the government of Israel.”

Reuters reported late last month that an internal State Department memo it had seen that summarized the opinions of various internal bureaus in preparation for the report showed that there was no unanimity on the subject.

Officials from several bureaus had said they did not find Israeli declarations that it is using American arms in accordance with international humanitarian law “either credible or reliable.”

Others said Israeli assurances were trustworthy, while the Bureau of Political and Military Affairs said that suspending arms sales to Israel would force the White House to reassess “all ongoing and future sales to other countries in the region.”

On Friday, 88 Congressional Democrats sent a letter to President Biden that focused on the need to follow NSM 20’s requirements regarding humanitarian aid.

In it, they accused Israel of restricting American-backed aid supply that has “contributed to an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe” and asked Biden to tell Israel that such limitations were “risking its eligibility for further offensive security assistance from the United States.”

Defensive equipment, such as Iron Dome missile interceptors, would not be included in the ban, they added.

The annual report on Israel’s budget shows just how much the country is dependent on the United States for its weapons supplies.

Israel declared war on Hamas after some 3,000 terrorists invaded Gazan envelope communities and massacred 1,200 people on October 7. Of NIS18 billion that the Defense Ministry spent in the fourth quarter of 2023, about 43% (NIS7.8 billion) was paid to American sources, the vast majority of it directly to the U.S. military.

The total includes payment for items to be provided in the future as well.