Blinken denies US 'double standards' over Israeli war crimes in Gaza

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has rejected accusations that Washington has "double standard" when applying US law to incidents of rights abuses by the invading Israeli military in besieged Gaza, saying that examinations of such charges are ongoing.

"Do we have a double standard? The answer is no," Blinken told a news conference announcing the department's annual human rights country reports on Monday.

"In general, as we're looking at human rights and the condition of human rights around the world, we apply the sa me standard to everyone. That doesn't change whether the country is an adversary, a competitor, a friend or an ally," he said.

"When it comes to allegations of incidents or whether it's violations of international humanitarian law, rights abuses... we have processes within the department that are looking at that incident that have been raised. Those processes are ongoing," Blinken said.

He declined to provide details about when those processes might produce a definitive assessment.

The American diplomat also confirmed that "ongoing efforts" are being made by the US to investigate cases of possible human rights violations by Israel.

Regarding the reports that Israel violated the Leahy laws, Blinken said it is a "good example of a process that is very deliberate, that seeks to get the facts to get all the information that has to be done carefully.

"I think you'll see in the days ahead that we will have more to say, so please stay tuned on that," he added.

The Leahy Law, named after former Senator Patrick Leahy, requires the US to withhold military assistance from foreign military or law enforcement units if there is credible evidence of human rights violations.

Axios news site reported on Saturday that the US is preparing to impose sanctions on the Israeli military's Netzah Yehuda battalion over grave rights violations committed by the combat unit against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

Israel's military conduct has come under heavy scrutiny as its forces have killed over 34,000 Palestinians in besieged Gaza, 70 percent of them babies, children and women.

Besieged Gaza has been reduced to a wasteland, and extreme food shortages have prompted fears of man-made famine.

Rights groups have flagged numerous incidents of civilian harm during the Israeli army's carnage in Gaza, as well as raised 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 October 7.

But so far, the Biden administration has claimed 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.

'Disingenuous' comments

Brian Finucane, senior adviser to the US Program at the International Crisis Group, pushed back on Blinken's comments, saying it was "disingenuous" to say partners and adversaries get the same treatment on the issue.

"With adversaries like Russia, there is a policy demand to make quasi-legal, public determinations about atrocity crimes. With partners like Israel, there is the opposite policy demand to avoid reaching any inconvenient legal conclusions," said Finucane, an ex-State Department lawyer.

Washington gives $3.8 billion in annual military assistance to its longtime ally. Rights groups have criticised the Biden administration's steadfast support for Israel, which they say provides it with a sense of impunity.

But 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 falsely claimed that it doesn't deliberately cause humanitarian suffering in the Palestinian enclave.

The State Department, in its 2023 human rights report about Israel, said the war in Gaza 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.

"Israeli authorities operating in Gaza took no publicly visible steps to identify and punish officials accused of committing human rights abuses," said the report, covering the incidents of last year.