WAND supports investigation into Israeli use of US weapons
After Israel's latest attack on the Gaza Strip May 10 to May 21, we join other organizations in calling for an investigation into whether "whether Israel’s usage of US weapons were in violation of the requirements applied to recipients of US-origin defense articles pursuant to the Arms Export Control Act of 1976 (AECA) as amended [22 U.S.C. 2751, et. seq.]. " As an organization seeking peace with justice, we oppose all actions that violate international humanitarian law, and believe that Israel should be held accountable for its disproportionate response.
From the letter: "International humanitarian law prohibits indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks and requires all parties to an armed conflict to distinguish between military targets, civilians, and civilian objects. Yet, Israeli forces overwhelmingly utilized explosive weapons in densely populated civilian areas, seemingly primarily targeting residential buildings and civilian infrastructure, including roads and government ministry buildings. The conduct of hostilities raises serious concerns that Israeli forces conducted indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks during the 12-day military offensive on the Gaza Strip. While Israel relies on the principle of self-defense to justify military offensives on Gaza, Israeli forces are undoubtedly bound to customary international law rules of proportionality and necessity."
Dear Secretary Blinken,
We write to express our urgent concern over Israel’s latest attack on the Gaza Strip and to call for an immediate, comprehensive investigation into whether Israel’s usage of US weapons were in violation of the requirements applied to recipients of US-origin defense articles pursuant to the Arms Export Control Act of 1976 (AECA) as amended [22 U.S.C. 2751, et. seq.]. We also request a determination as to whether a report to Congress on this issue is required by section 3(c)(2) of AECA [22 U.S.C. 2753].
The latest Israeli airstrikes on Gaza began on May 10 and ended on May 21, during which time at least 256 Palestinians, including 66 children were killed, and 1,948 were injured. The bombing destroyed 1,165 housing and commercial units and damaged nine hospitals and 14 medical clinics. Damaged civilian infrastructure has left over 400,000 Palestinians without access to drinking water and has cut power output to no more than 10 hours per day. During the same period, rockets fired into Israel from Gaza killed 13 Israelis, including two children.
International humanitarian law prohibits indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks and requires all parties to an armed conflict to distinguish between military targets, civilians, and civilian objects. Yet, Israeli forces overwhelmingly utilized explosive weapons in densely populated civilian areas, seemingly primarily targeting residential buildings and civilian infrastructure, including roads and government ministry buildings. The conduct of hostilities raises serious concerns that Israeli forces conducted indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks during the 12-day military offensive on the Gaza Strip. While Israel relies on the principle of self-defense to justify military offensives on Gaza, Israeli forces are undoubtedly bound to customary international law rules of proportionality and necessity.
Examples of US-sourced equipment being used in Israeli attacks on civilians are already emerging. One example is the Israeli airstrike in the Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City. Around 1:00 AM on May 16, Israeli aerial attacks flattened residential buildings in the single deadliest incident of the 12-day attack. 43 Palestinians were killed, including 22 members of one family, the al-Kawlak family. We quote from this heart-breaking account from AP:
“By nightfall, the family’s death toll stood at 22. Eight bodies were dug out of Azzam’s building and 14 from the one next door. The dead included 89-year-old family patriarch Amin, his son Fawaz, 62, his grandson Sameh, 28, and his great-grandson, 6-month-old Qusai.
Just a day earlier, Qusai’s parents had celebrated a small milestone, his first tooth. Azzam’s two younger brothers were killed. Three nieces — 5-year-old Rula, 10-year-old Yara and 12-year-old Hala — were found in a tight embrace, their bodies the last to be pulled out, said Azzam’s surviving older brother, Awni.”
The same report notes that bomb fragments from the attack indicate the bombs that flattened these homes were “likely GBU-31s, packed with 430 kilograms (945 pounds) of high explosives.” In addition, the report notes that “two had serial numbers identifying them as fitted with Joint Direct Attack Munition kits manufactured by Boeing Co. at its factory in St. Charles, Missouri, to make them so-called ‘smart bombs,’ able to be guided to a target by GPS or lasers.”
This same attack also killed Dr. Ayman Abu al-Ouf, head of internal medicine at al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, who was directing the hospital's covid-19 response. He was killed along with 12 members of his extended family.
Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, an Israeli military spokesman, said of the bombing of civilians in Al-Rimal: “It’s not a totally mathematic [sic] exercise in choosing the ordinance.”
These Joint Direct Attack Munition kits are the same that were the subject of a May 5 notification to Congress of a proposed direct commercial sale to Israel valued at $735 million. On May 20, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and 14 cosponsors, and Senator Bernie Sanders, introduced joint resolutions of disapproval of this sale. Despite these Congressional objections, the administration reportedly provided an export license for these weapons the following day.
In another horrific incident, Defense for Children International Palestine documented that on May 12 US-sourced equipment was used by Israeli forces in the killing of two Palestinian children and injuring of a third:
“A U.S.-sourced Israeli Apache attack helicopter killed two Palestinian children and critically injured a third on Wednesday afternoon in Al-Fukharia village southeast of Khan Younis, located about 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) from the Gaza perimeter fence. Hamada Attia Abed al-Emour, 13, was on his way to a store near his home around 5:30 p.m., accompanied by his two cousins, Ammar Tayseer Mohammad al-Emour, 10, and Elyan Moneer Ibrahim al-Emour, 12, when the Israeli attack helicopter fired two thermal flares and then a missile in the direction of the children, according to documentation collected by DCIP. At the time of the missile attack, the street was open and completely quiet.
The helicopter-fired missile directly hit Hamada and Ammar, dismembering and killing them both instantly. Elyan, who was walking five to six meters (16-20 feet) in front of his cousins, was struck with shrapnel in the abdomen, according to documentation collected by DCIP. All three children were transported to the nearby European hospital where doctors pronounced Hamada and Ammar dead. Eylan was later transferred to Khan Younis’ Nasser hospital and remains in critical condition as of midday on May 13.”
The devastation to Palestinian families is still only just becoming clear. The United Nations Human Rights Council has launched an open-ended international investigation into Israel’s actions in Gaza, with the UN human rights chief Michele Bachelet stating that Israel’s actions may constitute war crimes. It is incumbent upon the State Department to immediately determine whether US-sourced equipment was used in violation of US law.
Israel has cited Palestinian rocket fire from Gaza as a justification for its attack, and indiscriminate rocket fire and rocket fire targeted at civilians must end, but Palestinian rocket fire also cannot be viewed in isolation from the larger context of occupation and violence that exists in the occupied Palestinian territory. Nor can Palestinian rocket fire be a pretext for Israel violating the Arms Export Control Act.
We must remember the broader context of life for Palestinians in Gaza when this military assault began. Between January 1 and April 12, 2021, Israeli forces invaded Gaza 12 times, conducted airstrikes or shelling into Gaza three times, and opened fire into Gaza over 170 times. Even when bombs are not falling, Palestinians in Gaza live under Israel's illegal military siege and blockade--a collective punishment against Palestinian civilians which creates severe shortages of medicine, food, electricity, and clean water.
We look forward to your response to our request for an investigation and to the other matters addressed in this letter.
Sincerely,
Members of Congress