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President Joe Biden’s administration has indefinitely delayed a report investigating potential Israeli war crimes in Gaza, according to a Politico report that cites four sources with insider knowledge.
The development comes after the US State Department was expected to release the report on Wednesday, according to Politico.
If the State Department were to find that Israel violated international humanitarian law, the US may have to stop sending foreign aid. Under the Leahy Law, the US government cannot aid foreign security forces found committing “gross violations of human rights.”
Senator Peter Welch, an outspoken critic of the Israeli Defense Forces’ (IDF) conduct in Gaza, called on the Biden administration to halt Israeli aid. He argued the US is already in violation of the Leahy Law.
“We write with concern regarding the U.S. government’s failure to apply the Leahy Law consistently to all recipients of U.S. security assistance,” Mr Welch wrote in a letter co-signed by eight additional lawmakers on Tuesday.
“Recent articles documented that successive administrations have neglected to implement the Leahy Law in Israel,” he continued.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces have taken control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing, which borders Egypt in southern Gaza, the Israeli military has confirmed. Tanks from the 401st Brigade were seen rolling into the region.
The Palestinian health ministry says Israel’s continued assault on Gaza has killed almost 35,000 people, most of whom were women and children. The United Nations also says that restrictions on humanitarian aid have created a “man-made famine,” with half the 2.3 million strong population of the strip at catastrophic levels of hunger.
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