WASHINGTON (Dispatches) – An independent U.S. task force has informed the Biden administration there is “compelling and credible evidence” that the Zionist regime’s use of American weapons violates a U.S. national security memorandum demanding U.S. arms be used in accordance with humanitarian law.

The report, viewed by Middle East Eye, was submitted to the U.S. government on April 19.

The authors found “a clear pattern of violations of international law, failures to apply civilian harm mitigation best practices, and restrictions of humanitarian assistance, by the Israel and the IDF, often utilizing U.S. provided arms”.

The report was filed as the State Department prepares an official assessment for Congress on Israel’s compliance with National Security Memorandum/NSM-20, signed by Biden in February, which calls for assurances from countries receiving U.S. arms that those weapons are not being used in contravention of international law or international humanitarian law.

Israel submitted a written assurance to the U.S. in March that it was using American-supplied weapons per international humanitarian law.

But that letter was not made available to the public and raised eyebrows among some progressive members of Congress who have called on the Biden administration to restrict weapons transfers to Israel amid concerns over the civilian death toll in Gaza.

 

Over 100 Percent Surge in Military Spending

 

Military spending in West Asia rose almost 10 percent to $200bn in 2023, with the Zionist regime powering the arms splurge amid its war on Gaza.

Spending on arms and military gear grew at the highest level in 10 years, according to a new report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

The occupying regime led the way with spending rising 24 percent to reach $27.5bn. The war on Gaza has been the main driver of Israel’s spending. Its expenditure increased more than 200 percent from $1.8bn in the month before 7 October to $4.7bn in December 2023, according to the report.

In total, the occupying regime’s military spending has increased 44 percent from 2014 through 2023.

The war in Gaza erupted after October 7 when Israel launched a ferocious assault on the besieged enclave, killing more than 34,000 Palestinians, mainly women and children. 

On Saturday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a major spending bill that will allocate an additional $26bn for Israel, with $4bn set to replenish Israel’s missile system.

According to SIPRI, Israel was followed by Saudi Arabia and Turkey, the next biggest spenders on arms in the region.

Saudi Arabia was the world’s fifth biggest military spender globally in 2023.

According to the report, the roughly four percent growth in its military spending in 2023 “was partly financed on the back of increased demand for non-Russian oil and rising oil prices following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine”.

Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest exporter of crude oil.