Advocates Urge White House To Launch New Investigation Of Israel's Campaign In Gaza

Israel appears to be violating international and U.S. laws months after the administration last issued a report on whether it is respecting those standards, notes a Tuesday letter to top officials obtained by HuffPost.

With mounting evidence Israel is breaking legal standards — and its promises to the U.S. — during its ongoing military offensive in Gaza, the Biden administration should stop sending the Israelis weapons and launch a public review of Israeli conduct, a coalition of more than 20 foreign policy and human rights groups argued in a letter to President Joe Biden and his top advisers on Tuesday.

Without a change, the Biden administration’s policy will “continue to cause devastating harm and risk making the United States complicit in war crimes,” argues the message, which was shared exclusively with HuffPost after it was sent to the U.S. National Security Council.

Among its signatories are prominent advocacy groups, such as the nonprofit Center for Civilians in Conflict; humanitarian organizations, like Refugees International; and other bodies from churches to think tanks. Notably, the letter is directed not only to Biden and his senior staff, but also to Vice President Kamala Harris and her national security adviser, Phil Gordon. Many observers hope Harris, who is running to succeed Biden, will be less deferential to Israel than Biden has been since the Oct. 7 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas that began the current fighting, and particularly that as a former prosecutor, she will prioritize U.S. and international law.

The joint statement argues Biden’s current approach of sending Israel billions in military equipment conflicts with one of his own policies: National Security Memorandum 20, or NSM-20, which he released in February.

The order directed the State Department and Pentagon to report on whether countries receiving American arms are using them to break international law — for instance, through attacks that disproportionately harm civilians — and if those countries are blocking U.S. humanitarian aid. If U.S. officials confirm those conditions, the findings could trigger U.S. policies and legislation that bar weapons for countries taking such steps.