ARAB AND WORLD

Wed 04 Sep 2024 5:30 pm - Jerusalem Time

US will not follow Britain in halting arms sales to Israel

US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller confirmed on Tuesday that the United States will not follow the United Kingdom in its decision to ban the export of some weapons to Israel.


Britain announced on Monday the suspension of 30 out of 350 arms export licenses to Israel, citing a "clear risk" that they could be used in a serious violation of international humanitarian law.


British Foreign Secretary David Lammy told parliament on Monday that the partial ban includes items "that could be used in the current conflict in Gaza," including components for fighter jets, helicopters and drones.


"We are reviewing arms export licenses to Israel," Lamy added, adding that "our assessment leaves us unable to conclude that some arms exports to Israel pose a real risk that they could be used to violate humanitarian law."


Lamy confirmed, according to Reuters, that the suspension of licenses will not include components of the F-35 aircraft, and is not a comprehensive arms embargo.


He also stressed that the measure "will have no tangible impact on Israel's security... London continues to support Israel's right to defend itself in accordance with international law," adding: "There is no equality between Hamas terrorists and the democratic government of Israel."


Asked by a reporter during his daily press conference on Tuesday whether the UK decision “changed the US position on whether international human rights have been violated” by Israel or whether the US was “reconsidering any of its arms exports,” Miller said “no.”


“This is a decision that the UK has made based on its own assessments under its own laws,” Miller said. “We have our own assessments that are ongoing when it comes to looking at potential violations of international humanitarian law, and they are ongoing.”


Miller, who acknowledged that the death toll in Gaza may be higher than the figure announced by Palestinian authorities, added that there were "a number of incidents" committed by Israeli forces that "are still under review."


When another reporter pressed him that the United States and Britain were “two countries with very similar values” who “look at the same battlefield and come to very different conclusions,” Miller said, “We have not come to conclusions.”


"We have ongoing reviews, and we have not reached any final decisions or conclusions yet," he continued.


The UK “makes its decisions based on the standards written into British law,” Miller said. “We will make our decisions based on the standards written into US law, which I don’t think is difficult to understand.”


“We have said it is reasonable to assess that there were violations of international humanitarian law committed,” Miller acknowledged. “What we do is go to specific incidents to make specific judgments about those specific incidents to see if they were addressed … and what actions, if any, Israel took.”


“You have to answer those two questions before you can make those decisions under U.S. law,” he added. “That’s what we do.”


Asked when these assessments would be completed, Miller said: "As soon as possible."


It is noteworthy that in addition to providing Israel with tens of billions of dollars in military aid, the Biden administration is also protecting the far-right government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the United Nations by vetoing ceasefire resolutions in the Security Council.


Experts claim this makes the United States complicit in what many legal experts and scholars say is genocide. Israel is currently on trial for genocide at the International Court of Justice.


Last week, Palestinians, Palestinian-Americans, and human rights groups asked the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco to reconsider a lawsuit accusing senior Biden administration officials of complicity in genocide. Meanwhile, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, filed a request for arrest warrants targeting Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for “the crimes of causing genocide, causing famine as a method of warfare, including denying civilians humanitarian relief, and intentionally targeting civilians in the conflict.”


Khan also wants to arrest Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Ismail Haniyeh (whom Israel assassinated on July 31 in Tehran), and Mohammed Deif (whom Israel claims it killed) on charges of “genocide, murder, hostage-taking, rape and sexual assault in custody.”


Biden and members of his administration have condemned Khan's attempt to arrest Israeli leaders, and members of the US Congress from both major parties are supporting legislation to punish ICC officials for seeking arrest warrants from the prosecutor.


The US Department of Justice has indicted six senior Hamas leaders on charges of terrorism, conspiracy to murder and evading sanctions.


The Gaza Health Ministry said Tuesday that Israel's 333-day assault on Gaza has left more than 145,000 people dead, maimed or missing. The Israeli assault has displaced nearly 2.3 million people in Gaza and pushed much of Gaza into famine.


Rather than pursuing a different policy toward Israel amid its growing international isolation over the Gaza war, US Vice President Kamala Harris, who became the Democratic Party’s 2024 presidential nominee after Biden dropped out of the race on July 21, said she would not block any arms transfers to Israel. Former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, is expected to be more supportive of Israel if he wins a second term.

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US will not follow Britain in halting arms sales to Israel

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