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Amnesty International, a well-known human rights group, has officially called on President Biden to suspend arms transfers to Israel because of alleged violations of international law.
The organization claims that its recent research shows that US-supplied weapons are being used in serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law, which is inconsistent with US law and policy.
Amanda Klasing, national director for government relations with Amnesty International USA, said, “It is shocking that the Biden administration continues to hold that the government of Israel is not violating international humanitarian law with US-provided weapons when our research shows otherwise and international law experts disagree.”
Human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, have claimed that American-provided weapons had been used in an attack that killed 43 civilians in Gaza. They have also claimed that Israel has targeted journalists and used white phosphorus in Gaza. In contrast, Israel has argued that they did not use white phosphorus and instead were deploying smoke.
This development comes as pressure continues to grow on the White House as a May 8 deadline approaches for the government to certify to Congress that weapons provided to Israel have been used in accordance with international law. Earlier last week, there were internal debates within the State Department about whether Israel was complying, with four bureaus saying they were not.