Biden Delays NSM-20 Report, Halts Some Weapons Shipments As Israel Invades Rafah | Palestine Policy Roundup 5.10.24
Welcome to the Palestine Policy Roundup, a weekly publication of the IMEU Policy Project.
👀 ICYMI: MEMBERS OF CONGRESS SPEAK OUT
Sen. Bernie Sanders: “President Biden is absolutely right to halt bomb delivery to this extreme, right-wing Israeli government. But this must be a first step. The U.S. must now use ALL its leverage to demand an immediate ceasefire, the end of the attacks on Rafah, and the immediate delivery of massive amounts of humanitarian aid to people living in desperation.”
Rep. Cori Bush: “34k. That’s how many Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, and it’s likely an undercount. More children are killed with each passing day. Stop moving the goalposts. We need a permanent ceasefire NOW.”
Rep. Rashida Tlaib: “It is now more apparent than ever that we must end all U.S. military funding for the Israeli apartheid regime, and demand that President Biden facilitate an immediate, permanent ceasefire that includes a complete withdraw[al] of Israeli forces from Gaza, and the release of all hostages and arbitrarily detained Palestinians.”
Rep. Ayanna Pressley: “Israeli forces are attacking Rafah, the final place of refuge in the Gaza Strip. Over 1.4M Palestinians are sheltering there & are facing more death & destruction. @POTUS called an Israeli invasion of Rafah “a red line” & must use his power to stop this attack. #CeasefireNOW”
Rep. Delia Ramirez: “35,000 Palestinians are dead. One held shipment of military aid is not enough. Our country’s repeated unwillingness to enforce international law has had catastrophic impacts. I am calling on the Biden Administration to fulfill its reporting obligation on whether the Israeli government is complying with our OWN policies and international law in their use of military aid.”
Rep. Ilhan Omar: “Just as President Biden warned such an offensive would be a ‘red line,’ this should be a red line for anyone who believes in the sanctity of human life. The Administration must use its most potent leverage and restrict military aid to Israel. Condemnations and warnings are not enough.”
DC DEVELOPMENTS
BIDEN, BLINKEN DELAY REPORT ON ISRAELI ASSURANCES UNDER NSM-20
The Biden administration has delayed issuing a report to Congress on whether Israel is violating its National Security Memorandum 20 assurances that it would not use US weapons in violation of international humanitarian law or to block US humanitarian aid. The report was originally due on Wednesday.
There is overwhelming evidence that Israel is violating international humanitarian law in its attacks against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and restricting the delivery of humanitarian aid while 1.1 million people face imminent starvation because of its illegal blockade. Reports by Human Rights Watch and Oxfam International, Amnesty International, and the Independent Task Force on the Application of National Security Memorandum-20 to Israel have all outlined why the Biden administration would fatally undermine the credibility of NSM-20 and make a mockery of its supposed commitment to center human rights in US policy should it find Israel to be in compliance with its assurances.
🔑KEY CONTEXT: These concerns about Israel’s actions have greatly intensified this week as Israel launched an invasion of Rafah, to which 1.5 million Palestinians were previously forcibly displaced, crossing President Biden’s own “red line” on Israel’s actions. The Biden administration must not whitewash Israel’s blatant violations of NSM-20. To do so would be yet another example of its failure to hold Israel accountable for its violations of US law and policies on weapons transfers. The Biden administration’s delaying of the report provides a green light to Israel to continue its attack on Palestinians in Rafah, fatally undermining the president’s supposed “red line.”
🔑 KEY CONTEXT: Senator Chris Van Hollen, whose efforts to file an amendment to the supplemental package earlier this year led to the creation of NSM-20, expressed concern about the handling of the upcoming report, telling the Huffington Post that “the reporting on the internal dynamics at the State Department clearly indicated that those who were most expert in applying the facts and the law were ignored and overlooked by those pushing a particular policy agenda.” He also called the Independent Task Force on the Application of National Security Memorandum-20 to Israel a “very important yardstick against which to compare what the Biden administration comes out with.”
📖 LEARN MORE: Read IMEU Policy Project’s policy memo to learn more about how Israel has violated NSM-20 and how Congress can hold Israel accountable for its actions.
📺 WATCH: IMEU Policy Project hosted an expert briefing which examined the question of whether the Biden administration will hold Israel accountable for violating its NSM-20 assurances.
BIDEN SAYS HE WILL WITHHOLD SOME WEAPONS FROM ISRAEL “IF THEY GO INTO RAFAH”
In a new interview on CNN, President Biden said he would withhold shipments of US weapons if Israel launches a “major” invasion of Rafah, shifting the goalposts from what had previously been the administration’s “red line.” President Biden’s decision to back Israel in the form of weapons transfers and diplomatic cover has been a disaster which has brought us to this moment. There can be no excuse for not reversing course now as Israel crosses Biden’s own “red line.”
Biden also said that “Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they go after population centers” in response to a question about the administration’s decision to halt shipments of some bombs to Israel, acknowledging that the Israeli military has used American bombs to kill Palestinian civilians in Gaza, which is against US law. President Biden has already supplied the bombs and munitions Israel is dropping on Rafah now. He signed a bill giving Israel $14.1 billion in weapons two weeks ago. Israel has crossed his “red line” — if his words mean anything, he needs to stop sending weapons to Israel now.
🔑 KEY TAKEAWAY: Biden’s actions and statements demonstrate that public and congressional pressure to condition weapons to Israel amid the ongoing genocide in Gaza is working. However, the best time to have halted weapons to Israel was before Israel killed more than 35,000 people. The next best time to do so is now. Congress must keep up the pressure on the Biden administration to halt all further weapons shipments to Israel, as is required by US laws and Biden administration policies on weapons transfers, and Israel’s flagrant violation of those laws and policies.
SENATORS CALL FOR CONSISTENT APPLICATION OF THE LEAHY LAW TO ISRAELI FORCES
Senator Peter Welch led a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, signed by 8 other Senators, expressing concern about the failure to adequately address allegations of gross human rights violations committed by Israel and to impose necessary sanctions under the Leahy law. In the letter, the senators highlight how Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza, including the bombing of civilian infrastructure and killing of medical personnel and aid workers, has brought renewed scrutiny on the application of the Leahy Law to Israel.
🔑 KEY TAKEAWAY: The Senators highlighted cases of earlier inquiries into abuses by Israel by Senator Patrick Leahy and the non-existent application of the Leahy Law to Israel by multiple administrations. Previous inquiries were “either not answered, the answers were inconclusive, or the responses described the Israeli military justice system as ‘highly credible’ despite its long history … of conducting investigations that rarely result in punishment commensurate to the offense.”
🔑 KEY TAKEAWAY: A report published by the investigative journalism outlet ProPublica further highlighted the special treatment Israel receives with regard to the Leahy Law, revealing further details about the remediation steps that allowed four Israeli units to avoid sanctions. The report states that many experts disagreed with the decision to continue assistance to the Shahar Search and Rescue Battalion, which is responsible for the 2019 killing of Ahmed Manasra, who was unarmed when he was shot and killed. The soldier responsible was given no jail time and sentenced to three months of community service. Tim Rieser, a longtime aide to former Sen. Patrick Leahy, said that community service is “not what would be considered appropriate punishment,” and that Blinken’s justification was “not consistent with how the law was written and how it was intended to be applied.”
IN THE NEWS
📊 NEW POLL SHOWS THAT MAJORITY OF DEMOCRATS BELIEVE ISRAEL IS COMMITTING GENOCIDE IN GAZA
A new poll published by Data for Progress shows that a majority of Democrats believe that Israel is committing a genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. While President Biden may deny it, millions of people across the US know what they are seeing, and want an end to US support for genocide.
The poll also showed that support for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza has risen to 70 percent of likely voters, an increase of nine points since the question was asked in November. Majorities of Democrats, Republicans, and independents responded that they support the US calling for a permanent ceasefire and de-escalation of conflict in Gaza.
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH RELEASES REPORT ON UNLAWFUL KILLINGS OF PALESTINIANS IN THE WEST BANK
A report published by Human Rights Watch concluded that Israel has unlawfully used lethal force against Palestinians in the West Bank, including deliberately executing Palestinians who posed no security threat, and called on governments to support the International Criminal Court probe into crimes committed in Palestine. The report also noted that “Israeli forces in 2023 killed 492 Palestinians, including 120 children, in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem,” more than double the number of killings documented by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in any other year. This report is just the latest addition to mounting evidence of human rights abuses committed by Israel. The incidents outlined in the report should be investigated by the State Department, and the Biden administration must hold these units accountable for their crimes.
🔑 KEY TAKEAWAY: Richard Weir, senior crisis and conflict researcher at Human Rights Watch, commented that “Israeli security forces are not just unlawfully killing Palestinians in Gaza, but have been killing Palestinians without a legal basis in the West Bank, including deliberately executing Palestinians who posed no apparent threat.” He added: “These killings are taking place at a level without recent precedent in an environment in which Israeli forces have no need to fear that their government will hold them accountable.”
PALESTINE/ISRAEL DEVELOPMENTS
ISRAEL INVADES RAFAH AND CLOSES ESSENTIAL BORDER CROSSING, WORSENING THREAT OF FAMINE
Israel took control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing and closed it during its offensive this week, as the UN disputes reports that the Kerem Shalom crossing has been reopened. The Kerem Shalom crossing was closed following a rocket attack on Sunday. The closing of these crossings has effectively shut down the flow of aid into Rafah and southern Gaza, where more than one million people have been displaced. This move comes on the heels of World Food Programme Director Cindy McCain’s comments during an interview with NBC News in which she stated that there is a full blown famine in northern Gaza, and that famine is moving its way south. The time to prevent famine has now passed; to prevent the further spread of famine, the United States must pressure the Israeli government to reopen these crossings and to stop impeding the flow of aid into Gaza.
In an interview with Democracy Now, aid worker Dorotea Gucciardo of the Glia Project, who is currently on a medical mission in Gaza, highlighted the reality of the situation in Rafah. She stated: “to say that there’s not an incursion in Rafah right now is patently false. Throughout this entire day, I have heard bombs, explosions, I have heard heavy machine gun fire, and it seems to be creeping closer and closer to where we are in central Rafah.” Responding to a question about the lack of fuel and its threat to the functioning of hospitals, she warned that “we’re looking at a maximum of three days, three days of fuel to supply these hospitals to maintain any level of healthcare. The situation is beyond dire.” Despite what President Biden says, Israel’s invasion of Rafah has already begun. If the US does not cut off all weapons to Israel now, then his “red line” will turn into a green light for more killing of Palestinian civilians with US-made bombs.
ISRAEL SHUTS DOWN AL JAZEERA IN LATEST ATTACK ON JOURNALISM
The Israeli cabinet unanimously voted to shut down Al Jazeera’s operations in Israel, following the passage of a law which allows the cabinet to temporarily close foreign broadcasters determined to be a threat to national security. This is another flagrant violation of press freedom, and one that carries even more importance in light of Israel’s killing of more than 100 journalists in Gaza. Al Jazeera has been one of the only international media outlets to report from Gaza throughout this assault, and the world will lose a crucial resource in the documentation of Israeli crimes without the outlet’s reporting inside Israel.
ANOTHER MASS GRAVE FOUND IN GAZA, BRINGING TOTAL UP TO SEVEN
49 bodies have been recovered from a mass grave at Al Shifa hospital in Gaza, and dozens more are expected to be recovered. The discovery brings the number of mass graves in Gaza to seven across three sites, with more than 500 bodies recovered among them. In March, Israeli soldiers violently invaded Al Shifa Hospital, killing dozens of Palestinians and kidnapping hundreds, including journalists, from inside the hospital. Since then, dozens of bodies have been discovered in unmarked mass graves in the hospital courtyard. Bodies of Palestinians uncovered in this mass grave included children, medical personnel, and patients.