Nearly 500 claims that U.S.-manufactured weapons were used against civilians in Gaza are in the possession of the U.S. State Department. The State Department is required to promptly investigate each claim and issue a recommendation for action within two months. Yet not a single claim has made it to the “action” stage of the process. These claims have come from many U.S. government agencies, international aid organizations, NGOs, media reports, and other eyewitnesses. Many of the claims include detailed evidence, photos, and even fragments of bombs collected at sites where dozens of children were killed, according to the Washington Post today. Many of the claims represent violations of U.S. law and international laws. Yet the State Department is violating its own rules and policies by allowing these claims to sit idle, according to a Washington Post report from Sept. 13, 2023.
Off the record, many officials admit that the State Department has all the necessary power to take decisive action, but say that senior leaders around Blinken rely on Israel to substantiate any atrocities and are unwilling to sign off on any action plan without this Israeli stamp of approval. One former State Department employee stationed in Jerusalem said that the first goal in discussing any alleged abuse by Israel was how to reword the complaint to be less negative. The former employee said that the issue was never, “How do we get to the real truth of what’s going on here?” but rather, “How do we make this okay?”
William D. Hartung, an expert at the Quincy Institute, was quoted by the Washington Post as saying, “it’s almost impossible” that Israel is not violating U.S. law “given the level of slaughter that’s going on, and the preponderance of U.S. weapons.” The Biden administration has given at least $17.9 billion in military assistance to Israel in just the last year and Israel is the largest cumulative recipient of U.S. military aid since World War II.
