Biden Pushes For More Weapons To Israel, Violating US and International Law | Palestine Policy Roundup 06.21.24

Welcome to the Palestine Policy Roundup, a weekly publication of the IMEU Policy Project.

👀 ICYMI: MEMBERS OF CONGRESS SPEAK OUT

Sen. Bernie Sanders: “It is absurd that Netanyahu has been invited to address Congress. We should not be honoring people who use the starvation of children as a weapon of war. Instead, the United States should be withholding all offensive military aid to Israel and using our leverage to demand an end to this war…”

Rep. Greg Casar: “The Israeli government’s offensive — using American weapons — has displaced 1.7 million and killed tens of thousands of people. We must establish a P-2 designation for Palestinians with family in the U.S. AND secure a lasting ceasefire so Palestinians who stay in Gaza can live without fear of persecution and violence.”

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in response to AIPAC: “Is that why you spent nearly $20 million – the most in primary history – to unseat one of the handful of reps who don’t vote the way you tell them to? Is that why you announced a $100M spend overall? If AIPAC positions were so popular, they’d be free. Instead, they’re bought.”

Rep. Rashida Tlaib with Nina Turner: “From Detroit to Cleveland to Gaza, and everywhere in between, we must fight for a world built on equal rights, freedom from oppression, and human dignity for all people. In the words of civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer, ‘Nobody’s free until everybody’s free.’”

DC DEVELOPMENTS

CONGRESSIONAL LEADERSHIP SIGNS OFF ON MORE WEAPONS TO ISRAEL

The Washington Post reported this week that Rep. Gregory Meeks and Sen. Ben Cardin have signed off on a weapons sale to Israel worth more than $18 billion in response to pressure from the Biden administration to allow the sale to proceed. The sale would provide Israel with F-15 fighter jets, missiles, and JDAM kits. Speaking about his initial decision to place a hold on the deal, Meeks said earlier this year: “I don’t want the kinds of weapons that Israel has to be utilized to have more deaths.” The administration is also reportedly considering unpausing its suspension of the delivery of a shipment of 1,800 2,000-pound bombs and 1,700 500-pound bombs that President Biden said he withheld due to concerns about a major ground operation in Rafah earlier this year.

The Biden administration is becoming even more complicit in Israel’s genocide in Gaza by pushing for these weapons to be sent to Israel and used against Palestinians. This report comes after multiple investigations have found that US-supplied weapons were used in airstrikes on an UNRWA school being used as a shelter and in the Tal al-Sultan neighborhood of Rafah, in addition to countless other incidents. Israeli forces are also reportedly pushing deeper into Rafah, further calling into question what it will take for President Biden to live up to his “red line” promise and halt all weapons deliveries to Israel in response to growing Israeli attacks on Gaza. Congress must continue to pressure the Biden administration to live up to its promise of a “red line” and stop all weapons to Israel.

MORE THAN 60 MEMBERS OF CONGRESS URGE BIDEN ADMIN TO OPEN REFUGEE STATUS FOR SOME PALESTINIANS FLEEING GAZA

Sixty-nine members of Congress led by Reps. Greg Casar, Debbie Dingell, Pramila Jayapal, and Sen. Dick Durbin sent a letter to the Biden administration supporting an opening of refugee status to some Palestinians fleeing Israel’s genocide in Gaza. The Priority-2 designation under the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program would allow Palestinians who are relatives of US citizens and permanent residents to legally enter the country as refugees.According to the latest UNRWA situation report, more than 1.7 million people in Gaza are currently displaced. That’s more than seventy percent of all people in Gaza. The report notes that many displaced persons have had to move multiple times as Israel expands its offensives in Gaza. Reps. Pramila Jayapal and Greg Casar highlighted the importance of establishing a permanent ceasefire in Gaza for Palestinians who remain there while encouraging the Biden administration to give P-2 status to Palestinians with relatives in the US.

IN THE NEWS

UN EXPERTS URGE STATES AND COMPANIES TO END ARMS TRANSFERS TO ISRAEL OVER HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS

UN experts warned states and arms companies that the transfer of weapons and ammunition to Israel may risk complicity in violations of human rights and international crimes, including genocide. The experts cited recent decisions and actions by the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court which highlighted Israeli war crimes and plausible acts of genocide in Gaza. They noted Israel’s assault on Gaza is characterized by “indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks on the civilian population and infrastructure”.

This warning comes as the UN Human Rights office published an assessment of six Israeli strikes in Gaza and concluded that Israeli forces have repeatedly violated principles of the laws of war and possibly committed crimes against humanity by using heavy bombs on civilian targets. It also follows an investigation by the UN Human Rights Council’s Independent Commission of Inquiry, which found that Israel has committed the crime of extermination and other war crimes in Gaza.

The Biden administration should heed this warning and end its complicity in genocide in Gaza. Allowing more weapons to be sent to Israel would continue the administration’s violations of US and international law. Investigations by the UN and by nongovernmental organizations have repeatedly demonstrated how US-supplied weapons are being used by Israel to commit human rights abuses. 

🔑KEY TAKEAWAY: In a press release, UN experts said: “Arms initiate, sustain, exacerbate, and prolong armed conflicts, as well as other forms of oppression, hence the availability of arms is an essential precondition for the commission of war crimes and violations of human rights, including by private armament companies … The imperative for an arms embargo on Israel and for investors to take decisive action is more urgent than ever, particularly in light of states’ obligations and companies’ responsibilities under the Geneva Conventions, the Genocide Convention, the international human rights treaties, and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.”

AP INVESTIGATION DOCUMENTS DEVASTATING TOLL OF GAZA GENOCIDE ON FAMILIES

An investigation by the Associated Press identified at least 60 Palestinian families with at least 25 members killed by Israeli bombings during the first three months of Israel’s genocide in Gaza between October and December 2023. The investigation notes that entire bloodlines were killed during that time period, and that the Israeli campaign of mass death and destruction has left many families with no one left to document the death toll. 

The investigation found that more than 500 people were killed in just 10 strikes during the first months of Israel’s assault on Gaza. There were no obvious military targets in these strikes, and they mainly hit homes and shelters where families were gathered. The investigation also noted there were no direct warnings to those inside the targeted buildings.

This investigation further highlights the toll of Israel’s assault on Gaza. The killing of families is a key point in the genocide case before the ICJ, and the strikes analyzed in the investigation further highlight Israel’s targeting of civilians. 

AIR FORCE ENGINEER RESIGNS IN RESPONSE TO US COMPLICITY IN GAZA GENOCIDE

Air Force engineer Riley Livermore has resigned from his position in protest of the Biden administration’s support for genocide in Gaza. Speaking to The Intercept, Livermore said: “I don’t want to be working on something that can turn around and be used to slaughter innocent people … I think the dissonance just kind of continued to get louder and louder, it’s like ‘I can’t really do this anymore.” This resignation is the latest in a growing number of civilian and military officials who have resigned over US support for Israel’s war on Gaza, and highlights growing dissent in the US military. In February airman Aaron Bushnell self-immolated in front of the Israeli embassy and in May Army Major Harrison Mann resigned from his position at the Defense Intelligence Agency.

PALESTINE/ISRAEL DEVELOPMENTS

PALESTINIAN DOCTOR DIED FROM TORTURE IN ISRAELI CAPTIVITY

Dr. Iyad Rantisi, director of Kamal Adwan hospital’s maternity department, was killed in Israeli detention under torture six days after his imprisonment  in November. He is the second doctor to be killed in Israeli custody after Dr. Adnan al-Bursh was killed by torture earlier this year. Palestinian detainees held in Israeli prisons and detention camps have reported that Israeli forces routinely torture and kill Palestinians to elicit false confessions from detainees, and whistleblowers revelaed abuse at an Israeli detention center earlier this year.