France, Italy and other European countries have already imposed arms embargoes on Israel, but the new U.S. threat to impose a similar embargo if humanitarian aid is not delivered to Gaza is particularly unusual.
Israeli officials said Tuesday night that this is the harshest letter the United States has sent to Israel in decades, particularly with the threat to cut off the supply of weapons. Israel will soon have to take significant action to increase humanitarian aid to avoid a crisis with the U.S.
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US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
(Photos: Nathan Howard/Reuters, Haim Goldberg)
There has been no substantial change in Israel's policy regarding humanitarian aid to Gaza, according to Israeli officials. They attribute the harsh letter to the U.S. administration's lack of confidence in Israel's intentions. U.S. officials reportedly feared that Israel was planning to starve Gaza, in line with the so-called "General's Plan" proposed by retired IDF Maj. Gen. Giora Eiland, which involves isolating northern Gaza.
Israel has removed the private sector from the distribution of aid and closed crossings in northern Gaza, leading to a significant reduction in the number of aid trucks entering the Palestinian enclave. This raised suspicions in Washington that Israel was deliberately limiting aid. Recent discussions about having the IDF manage aid distribution did little to alleviate those concerns.
The backdrop to this situation is the growing crisis of trust between the White House and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Notably, the letter from U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was addressed to Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, bypassing Netanyahu.
The letter demands that Israel take concrete steps to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza within 30 days. In addition to ensuring regular aid transfers, the U.S. also calls on Israel to allow Red Cross visits to Palestinian detainees and to halt Knesset legislation that would prevent the Palestinian aid agency UNRWA from operating in Israel.
The deeper implication of the Blinken-Austin letter is that if Israel does not address the humanitarian crisis in northern Gaza within 30 days, it could face a severe arms crisis, as the U.S. continues to delay shipments of heavy bombs. Failure to meet the U.S. demands could jeopardize the continuation of military aid, which requires approval from both Blinken and Austin.
The letter cites Section 620i of the Foreign Assistance Act, which prohibits military aid to countries that block U.S. humanitarian assistance. It also references a national security memorandum issued by President Joe Biden in February, requiring the State Department to report to Congress on Israel’s compliance with U.S. and international law in its use of American weapons.
Senior officials said the letter was no surprise, as the U.S. had been warning Israel for weeks that it was heading in this direction. They described it as a "wake-up call" for Israel to comply with U.S. legislation, noting that the administration’s ability to provide munitions could be constrained.
In their letter, Blinken and Austin emphasized that the U.S. State and Defense departments are required to continuously evaluate Israel's adherence to its commitment to "facilitate and not arbitrarily deny, restrict or otherwise impede, directly or indirectly, the transport or delivery of United States humanitarian assistance and U.S. government-supported international efforts to provide humanitarian assistance" to Gaza.
"We are now writing to underscore the U.S. government's deep concern over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza and seek urgent and sustained actions by your government this month to reverse this trajectory," the American officials wrote.
"Despite the July transition from combat operations to Special Counterterrorism Operations in the Gaza Strip, multiple evacuation orders have forced 1.7 million people into a narrow coastal strip from Muwasi to Deir al-Balah. Extreme overcrowding has put these civilians at risk of lethal contagions," according to the letter.
The letter is a 'wake-up call' for Israel to comply with U.S. legislation
"We are particularly concerned that recent actions by the Israeli government are contributing to an accelerated deterioration in the conditions in Gaza," the letter also said.
Since Israel’s assurances in March and a subsequent letter in April, which had led to improvements in aid delivery, the amount of assistance entering Gaza has dropped by over 50%, according to the letter. Aid deliveries in September were reportedly the lowest in a year.
The U.S. letter outlined a series of demands, including allowing at least 350 trucks of aid into Gaza daily, instituting humanitarian pauses across the Strip, permitting civilians in Muwasi and the humanitarian zone to move east before winter, canceling evacuation orders where no operational need exists, speeding up World Food Program efforts, removing dual-use items from restricted lists and creating an expedited aid route through Ashdod port.
White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said the Biden administration had made similar requests regarding humanitarian aid in April and had received a positive response from Israel. "This letter comes following a decrease in the amount of humanitarian aid getting into Gaza, which we have been very worried about since the beginning of the conflict," he told a press briefing. "Why was the letter sent? Because there was a drop in humanitarian aid. It's not that we didn't convey these concerns to the Israelis.
"There is a sense of urgency regarding the desperate need for aid in Gaza. President Biden has consistently raised this issue with the Israelis. He has been fully aware of the efforts to communicate these concerns, both verbally and in writing, and it has come up in his talks with Prime Minister Netanyahu."
'The weapon may lead to a violation of international law'
Earlier this month, French President Emmanuel Macron called for an end to the transfer of weapons to Israel that might be used in the war in Gaza. This followed his support for a September 18 resolution initiated by the Palestinians at the UN General Assembly.
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Israeli companies banned from the world's largest naval weapons fair, Euronaval, set to be held in Paris next month
(Photo: Tamar Sebok)
Relations between France and Israel reached a nadir on Monday evening when Macron criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a closed session with his ministers. "Netanyahu must not forget that his country was established by a UN resolution; he cannot disregard his obligations to those resolutions," Macron reportedly said according to French newspaper Le Parisien. Netanyahu later rebuked the French leader's remarks in a phone call.
On Tuesday evening, the French government decided to ban Israeli companies from participating in Euronaval, the world’s largest naval weapons fair, scheduled to be held next month in Paris. Twelve Israeli companies had planned to exhibit at the event. If this negative trend continues, it will likely also prevent Israeli participation in the Air Salon in Le Bourget, the crown jewel of defense exhibitions.
Britain has already announced the suspension of around 30 arms export licenses to Israel out of roughly 350. The decision was made by the Labour government, which emphasized that it was not an arms embargo.
It explained that an inspection had found a "clear risk" that the weapons could lead to "a significant violation of international law." Meanwhile, Germany has begun rejecting Israeli requests to purchase various weapons and is effectively operating a "silent embargo" on Israel.
Italy halted arms transfers on October 7, 2023, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni told her country’s parliament. "We have frozen all contracts," she said. Referring to an incident in which the IDF fired at a UNIFIL post in southern Lebanon, Meloni added that she would visit Beirut.
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