POSITIVE Palestine / Israel 118th Congress

NSM20 Letter NSM20 Letter — Israeli Assurances re IHL

Congressional letter questioning the credibility of Israeli assurances about complying with international humanitarian law when using U.S. weapons (118th Congress)

View on Congress.gov

Legal & Constitutional Grounding

Federal law prohibits arms transfers to countries restricting humanitarian aid delivery (22 U.S.C. § 2378-1).

Foreign Assistance Act § 620I (22 U.S.C. § 2378-1) — prohibits U.S. assistance to countries restricting humanitarian aid delivery

NSM-20 (Feb. 8, 2024) — requires written assurances of IHL compliance from recipients of U.S. defense articles
Foreign Assistance Act § 502B (22 U.S.C. § 2304) — prohibits security assistance to governments with consistent pattern of gross human rights violations

Letter invoking National Security Memorandum 20, requiring Israeli assurances of compliance with international humanitarian law as a condition for weapons transfers. NSM-20 codifies existing requirements under the Foreign Assistance Act.