Axios: The assurances relate to commitment to international law during the use of American weapons and allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza.
The Biden administration has granted Israel until mid-March to sign a letter provided by the United States on Tuesday, which offers assurances that it will adhere to international law during the use of American weapons and permit humanitarian aid into Gaza, according to three U.S. and Israeli officials speaking to Axios. These assurances have now become a requirement under a memo issued by President Biden earlier this month. While not specifically aimed at Israel, this new policy follows concerns raised by some Democratic senators regarding the Israeli military campaign in Gaza. If the assurances are not provided by the deadline, American arms transfers to the country will be temporarily halted.
The National Security Memo, published on February 8, stipulates that before U.S. weapon supplies, any country must provide the United States with "reliable written assurances" that it will use any of these weapons in accordance with international humanitarian law. The memo also emphasizes that a country using U.S. weapons in conflict areas must provide "reliable written assurances" that it "will facilitate and not arbitrarily prevent, limit, or obstruct, directly or indirectly, international humanitarian efforts supported by the U.S. government to provide humanitarian assistance."
**Congress and Israel Relations**
Three U.S. officials told Axios that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer informed the White House that he worries such an amendment could divide the Democratic bloc in the Senate and requested instead for executive action. U.S. officials in both Washington and Tel Aviv on Tuesday formally informed their Israeli counterparts of the new policy and provided them with a draft of the letter they need to sign for compliance. A senior Israeli official told the outlet that the U.S. request is for the written assurances by mid-March so that Blinken can certify them by the end of the month, and that Israel can decide who will sign the letter within the government.
A spokesperson for the White House National Security Council stated that "Israel has already indicated... that it expects to be able to provide the relevant assurances." The spokesperson emphasized that the assurances are not "specific to Israel" and that "the timing is expressly outlined" in the memo. The spokesperson added that the memo "did not impose new criteria for military assistance but rather provided a transparent and consistent framework for obtaining assurances for compliance with existing criteria."
The Israeli Ministry of Defense declined to comment. An American official noted that similar letters were sent in recent days to several other countries using American weapons. The memo requires the U.S. administration to provide an annual report to Congress on whether countries are adhering to international humanitarian law. The White House issued the memo following pressures in the Senate that sought to add these requirements as an amendment to the Senate's supplemental funding bill.
