US President Joe Biden has announced that countries receiving American weapons must provide written guarantees that they respect international law and the laws of war, according to a White House memorandum on Thursday evening.
The unexpected announcement came after the US president questioned Israel’s offensive in Gaza and argued that Benjamin Netanyahu’s government had “overstepped the boundaries”.
As the BBC reports, President Biden explains in the memo that foreign governments that receive American weapons must do so provide “credible and reliable written representations”. to the United States to ensure that they are used in accordance with international law. In addition, they must provide assurances that U.S. humanitarian assistance will be delivered to civilians in conflict.
The memo also specifies that this information must be reported to Congress and the President of the United States on a regular basis. The measure affects the 100 countries receive American weapons, who must sign these guarantees within the next 180 days.
However, for countries currently in conflict, the period is reduced to 45 days. Among them is Israel, the largest customer of the American defense industry.
A White House spokesman told reporters at a briefing on Thursday The order was not directed at any specific country.But the truth is that this comes after prominent Democratic lawmakers expressed concerns about Israel’s military operation in Gaza and whether it has complied with international law.
Senator Chris Van Hollen, who has led the push in Congress to require countries receiving military aid to comply with international law, welcomed the measure. “I believe this will give Biden more leverage to ensure that all recipients of U.S. military assistance, including the Netanyahu government, respect international humanitarian law and cooperate more closely in providing humanitarian assistance,” he said.