Israel will be required to respond to the stern letter sent by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, threatening an arms embargo on Israel, by November 14.
The letter, addressed to Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer in October, presented an American ultimatum demanding an increase in humanitarian aid to Gaza or the Biden administration would activate a national security memorandum (NSM 20) and halt arms transfers to Israel in accordance with law if it fails to provide sufficient humanitarian aid to Gaza within 30 days.
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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin
(Photo: AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
According to the memorandum signed in March 2024, Israel committed to allow humanitarian aid to reach Gaza and to not interfere with international humanitarian efforts that the U.S. supports. The U.S. is also demanding that Israel allow International Red Cross visits to Palestinian prisoners and freeze legislation against UNRWA.
According to political sources, the Blinken–Austin letter indicated that Washington did not wish to punish Israel with an arms embargo but was seeking a solution to the severe humanitarian situation in northern Gaza, as it had done in previous letters which subsequently saw an improvement in the provision of aid to the Palestinian enclave.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, U.S. President Joe Biden, aid truck in Gaza
(Photo: Alex Kolomoisky, Erin Schaff / Pool via REUTERS, IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed Dermer to draft a response addressing all issues at hand. Israeli officials now believe that a U.S. arms embargo is unlikely but still possible. If the U.S. State and Defense Departments conclude that Israel was still blocking humanitarian aid, they would be obligated to enforce the law and halt arms deliveries.
Antony Blinken with Yoav Gallant
(Video: Shahar Yurman)
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller noted on Monday that while there has been some improvement in the provision of humanitarian aid, it still falls short of the desired levels. He said that the Biden administration believed that the legislation severing ties with UNRWA, which raised concerns in Washington, would not help avert a potential embargo.
"There’s about a week left until the deadline that Blinken and Austin set in their letter to Israel to increase the flow of aid to Gaza, and there’s still a lot more they need to do. The results are not good enough today,” Miller said.
Political sources said the likelihood of such an embargo would be higher should U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris win Tuesday's presidential election. On the other hand, Trump — if elected — could lift the embargo on his first day in office in January 2025, should one be imposed by the Biden administration.
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