The report, seen by Middle East Eye, was submitted to the US government on April 19.
The authors found “a clear pattern of violations of international law, failure to apply best practices for mitigating harm to civilians, and restrictions on humanitarian assistance by the Government of Israel and the IDF, often using weapons provided by the United States.” ”.
The report was presented as the State Department prepares an official assessment for Congress on Israel’s compliance with the National Security Memorandum/NSM-20, signed by Biden in February, which requires guarantees to countries that receive US weapons from that these weapons are not being used in contravention. of international law or international humanitarian law.
Israel submitted a written assurance to the United States in March saying it was using U.S.-supplied weapons in accordance with international humanitarian law.
But that letter was not made available to the public and has raised eyebrows among some progressive members of Congress who have called on the Biden administration to restrict arms transfers to Israel amid concerns about the civilian death toll in Gaza.
“In the face of growing credible and deeply troubling reports and accusations that Israel has used American weapons in ways that violate American and international law… we believe that not challenging, at the very least, the assurances of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government violates the very spirit of the agreement. NSM-20 process,” more than two dozen House Democrats said in a letter to Biden in April.
The independent working group has no official mandate from the US government and is co-chaired by former US official Josh Paul, former director of the State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, and Noura Erakat, a human rights lawyer and associate professor at Rutgers University.
The task force also includes Charles Blaha, former director of the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor; Adil Haque, professor and expert in international armed conflicts; Wes J Bryant, retired US Air Force master sergeant, and other experts and researchers,
The panel said its goal was to brief the U.S. Departments of State and Defense as they prepare a final assessment for Congress scheduled for May 8.
The panel noted that it reviewed thousands of reports of Israeli violations of international law. He pointed to an Israeli attack on October 9 on the Jabalia refugee camp that destroyed several multi-story buildings and killed at least 39 people and which, according to the UN, did not appear to have any specific military objective.
He also cited several cases in which Israeli soldiers attacked humanitarian aid workers.
In February, an Israeli warship attacked a convoy of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees. The following month, Israeli soldiers killed at least 23 Palestinians waiting for food distribution in Gaza City. And in April, Israel carried out three separate attacks that killed seven members of World Central Kitchen.
“The Working Group concludes that the incidents… are only the most easily identifiable among a clear pattern of violations of international law, failure to apply best practices for mitigating harm to civilians, and restrictions on humanitarian assistance by the Government of Israel,” the report adds. .
The authors added that their findings raise “serious concerns” about the Biden administration’s compliance with US and international law in providing arms transfers to Israel.
Despite growing criticism of Israel’s offensive against Gaza, the Biden administration has continued to provide its ally with a steady flow of weapons. The Wall Street Journal reported in April that the White House was considering an additional arms deal with Israel worth $1 billion.
On Wednesday, the US Senate joined the House of Representatives in passing a relief bill that will provide $26 billion in aid to Israel and Palestine, with $4 billion earmarked to replenish the defense system. Israel’s anti-missile defense and approximately $9 billion in humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in Gaza. .