US would not consider halting arms to 'Israel' over blocking Gaza aid
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US President Joe Biden's envoy on humanitarian issues says Washington would continue its support for "Israel" and would not delay or stop weapons shipments.
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An Israeli soldier carries a shell next to a tank in northern occupied Palestine on Friday, September 27, 2024 (AP)
A senior US official working on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza said the US would not consider withholding weapons from the Israeli occupation to force its hand to allow aid into the Strip, even as the Israeli government continues to block essential aid such as food and medicine from entering the besieged Palestinian territory.
Lise Grande, who leads US humanitarian efforts in Gaza, told aid group leaders in an August 29 meeting attended by over a dozen humanitarian organizations that while the US might explore diplomatic tactics through the United Nations to pressure the Israeli occupation into allowing life-saving aid into Gaza, the Biden administration would continue its support for the regime and would not delay or stop weapons shipments, multiple attendees told Politico.
Politico, who also reviewed notes from the meeting, said one aid official who attended the meeting recounted that Grande emphasized "Israel's" status as part of a "tight circle of very few allies" that the US would not oppose.
She reportedly said, "We can’t play bad cop" with certain allies like "Israel", implying that the US would not withhold any assistance, including military support, from them.
Grande's remarks, while made over a month ago, cast doubt on the Biden administration's recent statements suggesting it might reconsider military support for the Israeli occupation due to humanitarian concerns.
Despite concerns voiced by aid representatives that the Israeli occupation's actions could be violations of international humanitarian law, which prohibits restricting humanitarian aid or blocking access in conflict zones, Grande's comments suggested the rules do not apply in the same way to the Israeli occupation.
A report from the US State Department in May also assessed that it was "reasonable to assess" that the Israeli occupation may be violating international law in Gaza, but stopped short of making an official determination.
Contradictory remarks?
The United States, while underlining behind closed doors that it would not withhold arms in order to leverage relief for Gaza, is publicly making statements completely contradictory to that sentiment.
The State Department announced on Tuesday that Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin cautioned "Israel" about the potential for the United States to withhold some military aid unless there are improvements in the delivery of aid to Gaza.
In a letter sent on Sunday, Blinken and Austin emphasized to the Israeli government that "there are changes that they need to make again to see that the level of assistance making it into Gaza comes back up from the very, very low levels that it is at today," as stated by State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller during a press briefing.
The United States has considerably expanded military backing for "Israel" after the war on Gaza began over a year ago. During this time, the US has contributed billions of dollars in security support and sent military troops to help "Israel" directly.
The letter cited US law, which stipulates that "recipients of US military assistance do not arbitrarily deny or impede the provisioning of US humanitarian assistance," expressing hope that "Israel" makes changes and consequently a "dramatic increase in humanitarian assistance" is witnessed.
As "Israel" continues to slaughter Palestinians, killing over 42,000 thus far, and expand its aggression into Lebanon, questioning of Western military assistance has grown.
Last month, investigations were initiated into the transfer of weapons amid concerns of violations of human rights and blocking of humanitarian aid.
In a 17-page memo sent to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in April, USAID told top US diplomats that US law requires the administration to cut off weapons shipments to governments that prevent the delivery of US-backed humanitarian aid. The Refugees Bureau also delivered a similar evaluation.
