The US secretary of state has rejected the idea that Washington might have a “double standard” when applying US law to allegations of abuses by the Israeli military in Gaza, while suggesting that examinations of such charges are ongoing.
“In general, as we’re looking at human rights and the condition of human rights around the world, we apply the same standard to everyone. That doesn’t change whether the country is an adversary, a competitor, a friend or an ally,” Antony Blinken told a news conference as he announced the department’s annual human rights country reports.
Blinken said that when it came to “violations of international humanitarian law, rights abuses” there were ongoing processes looking at incidents that had been raised. He declined to provide when those processes might produce a definitive assessment.
Israel’s military conduct has come under increasing scrutiny as its forces have killed 34,000 Palestinians in besieged Gaza, according to the enclave’s health authorities, many of them civilians and children. Gaza has been reduced to a wasteland, and extreme food shortages have prompted fears of famine.
Rights groups have flagged numerous incidents of civilian harm during the Israeli army’s offensive in Gaza, as well as raising the alarm about rising violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where Palestinian health ministry records show Israeli forces or settlers have killed at least 460 Palestinians since the Hamas attack on 7 October.
The State Department in its 2023 human rights report about Israel said the war with Hamas has had “a significant negative impact” on the human rights situation in Israel, and cited allegations of numerous incidents such as arbitrary or unlawful killings, enforced disappearance, torture and unjustified arrests of journalists among others.
However, so far the Biden administration has said it has not found Israel in breach of international law.
Advocates have raised questions of double standards saying Washington has been quick to condemn the actions of, for example, Russia in its invasion of Ukraine, but the Biden administration has been careful not to go too far in its criticism of Israel.
Addressing the criticism on Monday, Blinken said “do we have a double standard? The answer is no.”
Washington gives $3.8bn in annual military assistance Israel. Some Democrats and Arab American groups have criticised the Biden administration’s steadfast support for Israel, which they say provides it with a sense of impunity.
This month, president Joe Biden for the first time threatened to condition support for Israel, and insisted that it take concrete steps to protect humanitarian aid workers and civilians.
Israel has denied allegations of deliberately causing humanitarian suffering in Gaza. It denies deliberately targeting civilians, accusing Hamas of using residential buildings for cover. Hamas denies this.