The Biden administration is warning it is likely to miss its Wednesday deadline to deliver a report to Congress detailing its assessment over Israeli actions in its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip that could impact American military assistance to the country.
The report is mandated by a national security memorandum issued by President Biden in February and scrutinizes if Israel has violated international humanitarian law or hindered the delivery of humanitarian assistance. Consequences of the findings could limit U.S. arms transfers to Israel.
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Tuesday the report “is not yet finished” and that the administration will work to deliver it to Congress “as soon as possible.”
“It’s possible it slips just a little bit, but we are still at this point trying to get it done by tomorrow,” Miller said at the State Department briefing.
While federal law requires the U.S. to assess that foreign governments receiving American-made weapons and military support are not using them in violation of international law — and that would trigger consequences — Miller suggested the national security memo provided a new and higher bar of reporting.
“We have ongoing assessments that are being made, and in the middle of that process we are … stopping in the middle of that and making assessments about or answering questions about Israel’s compliance with international humanitarian law as well as the delivery of humanitarian assistance,” he said.
While the report mandated by the memo applies scrutiny to countries receiving “security cooperation or security assistance,” it was issued amid pressure from Senate Democrats to hold Israel to account over allegations of violations of international humanitarian law in its war taking place in Gaza, and concerns it was hindering the delivery of humanitarian assistance.
The issuance of the report is hotly anticipated on Capitol Hill, where Democrats have become increasingly outspoken against Israel’s war conduct, and on unhindered U.S. assistance to the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Large-scale, disruptive and at times violent campus protests in support of Palestinians and against Israel have further inflamed debated in the U.S. over military support for Israel.