Israel has killed more than 32,000 Palestinians in Gaza, displaced more than 80 percent of the population, destroyed large parts of the territory and imposed a suffocating blockade, bringing the enclave to the verge of famine, reports Al Jazeera.
But nearly six months into the war, the United States says it has not determined that Israel has violated international humanitarian law.
Washington’s assertion, made public this week as part of an oversight process on US weapons transfers to allies, has spurred bewilderment and condemnation from human rights groups.
“It’s absurd,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, director of Democracy for the Arab World Now. “It invites global mockery and disdain to hear such a statement issued in front of the world by the Biden administration.”
US laws prohibit arming countries engaged in human rights abuses. But advocates say the administration of President Joe Biden is bending the facts and denying well-documented Israeli violations to appear to be in compliance with the rules.
Whitson noted that Biden himself has described Israel’s bombing of Gaza as “indiscriminate”, which would make it a war crime, and that Washington has openly recognised that Israel is impeding aid to the territory.
The Biden administration has been facing increasing pressure to enforce US law when it comes to arming Israel. A recent public opinion poll suggested that the majority of Americans disapprove of Israel’s actions in Gaza.
Bd-pratidin English/Tanvir Raihan
