Israel is no exception to US policy that any country receiving its weapons must comply with the laws of war, the US State Department said on Monday, after Washington sold around 14,000 tank shells to Israel , without congressional review.
The Biden administration on Friday used emergency authority under the Arms Export Control Act to allow the sale, which was worth $106.5 million, the Pentagon said Saturday.
The U.S. expects all countries that receive military assistance to use it “in full compliance with international humanitarian law and the laws of war, and Israel is no exception,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in an interview press conference on Monday.
Miller was asked whether Washington has assessed whether Israel has complied with the Biden administration’s February 2023 Conventional Arms Transfer Policy (CAP). The resolution requires the State Department to determine that the weapons are unlikely to be used for genocide, crimes against humanity, violations of the Geneva Conventions or serious violations of international law.
Miller said the State Department has made no such determination and reiterated the U.S. position that Israel can do more in the Gaza conflict to minimize harm to civilians.
When asked whether the United States was gathering any information about the commission of war crimes, Miller said: “We are monitoring everything that happens in this conflict. We are engaged in talks with the Israeli government.”
Gaza’s Health Ministry said 18,205 people have died in Gaza in just over two months of war. The death toll and the desperate conditions of civilians in Gaza have prompted international calls for a humanitarian ceasefire.
By Humeyra Pamuk, Costas Pitas and Daphne Psaledakis