White House remains silent on soon-to-be-released Israeli weapons report

The White House declined to comment Friday on a soon-to-be-released State Department report regarding Israel’s use of U.S. weapons.

Media reports indicate that the Biden administration’s investigation concluded that Israel did not violate its terms of use of American weapons. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will deliver the report to Congress soon.

The report follows a recent decision by President Joe Biden to suspend the transfer of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel to ensure that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not move forward with his plan to invade Rafah.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby fielded numerous questions from reporters on the subject Friday afternoon, but repeatedly declined to comment on the report’s findings.

In fact, Kirby did not address the report at all during his opening speech, choosing instead to focus on the latest news regarding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and widespread flooding and landslides in Brazil.

“I’m sure you won’t be shocked.” I will refer you to the State Department on this matter. I have no updates for you on the NSM report. You really need to talk to the state,” Kirby said in response to a question.

“The president has been briefed and is obviously aware of the content. I’m just not going to go into detail about when he was briefed and how it happened, but he’s fully informed about it,” he said in response to a follow-up question.

As the Israeli offensive continues to cause civilian casualties, U.S. lawmakers, including Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT), have pushed for stricter verification mechanisms for U.S. weapons used by American allies.

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“We make it clear to any ally or partner that receives U.S. military systems, whether through sales or if it is provided to them from our own inventory, such as in Ukraine: make sure they understand our expectations as to how these weapons will be used. be used on the battlefield,” he said. “We remain prepared to continue working with Congress on this process.”