State Dept. Report on Israel’s Use of U.S. Weapons Gives Ammo to Both Sides

A State Department report on Israel’s use of U.S. weapons tried to please both pro- and anti-Israel voices, creating a slew of contradictory headlines.

“Biden administration says Israel is not violating U.S. weapons terms,” reported NBC. “US says Israel’s use of US arms likely violated international law, but evidence is incomplete,” said the AP. “Biden administration acknowledges possible Israeli weapons misuse in report to Congress,” reported USA Today.

Few linked to the actual document, so that readers could look through it and judge for themselves.

The reason for the confusion is clear: although the State Department did not find any actual evidence that Israel had used American weapons in ways that violate international humanitarian law or international human rights law, it also claimed that it was “reasonable” to assume that Israel had done so, given “given Israel’s significant reliance on U.S.-made” weapons. (Read more from “State Dept. Report on Israel’s Use of U.S. Weapons Gives Ammo to Both Sides” HERE)