Exclusive: U.S. Ambassador Claims Israel Is Abiding By American, International Law

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew on Tuesday privately told the State Department that Israel is following American and international law in its handling of weapons and humanitarian aid in its offensive in Gaza — deepening divisions between senior figures in the Biden administration, and other U.S. officials and aid experts who say Israel’s actions are breaking the law.

Lew made the claim in a diplomatic cable endorsing a letter he received from Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant last week, two U.S. officials who saw the cable told HuffPost. The move comes after multiple lawmakers and human rights groups argued that Israel’s barriers on relief for civilians in Gaza have put the country and the Biden administration in breach of a statute barring military backing for countries that prevent the distribution of U.S. humanitarian aid.

Under pressure from Congress due to the heavy toll of his policy of near-total support for Israel’s actions in Gaza, President Joe Biden last month unveiled a new policy requiring all countries that receive American military support to abide by U.S. and international law. For Biden to maintain his backing of Israel, Secretary of State Antony Blinken must endorse Israel’s commitments to abide by the policy by March 25, a process that one U.S. official said Lew’s cable is meant to help advance.

Given the dire conditions in Gaza ― where Israel’s ongoing campaign has killed more than 31,000 Palestinians and displaced nearly 2 million ― that certification will be a tough sell for the Biden administration.

A U.S. official who read Lew’s cable told HuffPost that it made “an absurd argument.”

“As Senator [Chris] Van Hollen [D-Md.] and other senators have tirelessly pointed out, the Israeli government