Middle East: USA is not restricting military aid to Israel for the time being

The US government does not currently want to restrict its military aid to Israel after a deadline it has set to improve the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. Foreign Office spokesman Vedant Patel said this when asked by journalists in Washington. In mid-October, the US government called on Israel to significantly improve the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.

US State Department: No change in policy

“We have not found that they are violating US law. However, we will continue to monitor and pay close attention,” Patel said. Israel has taken several steps in the past 30 days to respond to US demands. Further measures are necessary to achieve sustainable progress. However, there is currently no change in US policy to announce.

A White House memorandum from February and other US laws, such as the so-called Leahy Law, play a central role here. They allow the US to restrict military aid if recipient countries hinder humanitarian aid or do not comply with human rights assurances. Critics accuse Israel of violating these requirements. According to human rights organizations, basic standards are being violated, for example through the blockade of aid deliveries, air strikes on residential areas and the inadequate protection of civilians in the Gaza Strip. Israel rejects these allegations and emphasizes that its operations comply with international law.

Aid organizations criticize harshly

Aid organizations such as Oxfam and Save the Children criticized Israel for not meeting the US government’s demands. “The people of Gaza are being starved,” the organizations said in a joint report. According to the figures, 800,000 people are living in conditions approaching famine, particularly in the north of the Gaza Strip.

The organizations called on the United States and other governments to pressure Israel to fulfill its legal obligations. Israel violates these “with impunity – at enormous human cost to Palestinian civilians in Gaza.” Not only did Israel fail to meet US criteria for supporting humanitarian aid, but it also took measures that dramatically worsened the situation on the ground, particularly in the northern Gaza Strip.

A change in the US government is imminent

When asked by a journalist whether the remaining term of the US government was enough to achieve tangible progress, Patel replied that the 30-day deadline was not strictly tied to a date or election. It remained unclear what exactly that meant. The measure serves much more as part of an ongoing process in which the US continuously monitors the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and pressures Israel to honor its commitments.

Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder made similar comments. He emphasized that they understood the “complexity of the situation.” However, the US government believes that “the progress we are seeing now would not have happened without this letter and without these discussions.”

In January, Republican Donald Trump will move into the White House. Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris lost to Trump in last week’s US election. During his election campaign, the Republican repeatedly claimed that he could end the wars in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon and bring peace to the region – but without presenting a detailed plan.