J Street supports the Biden Administration’s decision to halt the transfer of certain munitions to Israel to signal deep concerns over the potential of a full-scale Israeli assault on the city of Rafah.
The United States has made clear to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that it cannot support such military action without a credible and executable evacuation plan for the hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians sheltering in the area.
J Street has consistently advocated for US security assistance to Israel, and we believe that all such assistance must fully comply with relevant US and international law, as well as President Biden’s own policies as articulated in National Security Memorandum 20 (NSM-20). As over a hundred lawmakers and many of the administration’s own experts have made clear, there are serious concerns that Israel is not meeting these critical standards. We await the administration’s now-delayed report to Congress on Israel’s compliance with NSM-20 and the underlying laws it implements.
We urge President Biden and Congress to take all necessary steps to dissuade Prime Minister Netanyahu from moving forward with a full-scale invasion of Rafah, which would risk the lives of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians and jeopardize efforts to secure a bilateral ceasefire and hostage release.