Israel has responded to a US letter of demands seeking to ensure the entry of aid into Gaza, claiming that it does not conduct forced displacement and is trying to increase aid to the devastated territory.
Dated 13 November and leaked by Axios on Wednesday, the Israeli response letter addressed a number of issues that had been brought up by the US, including the acceleration of aid into north Gaza, the banning of UNRWA in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza, and the forced displacement of Gaza’s population.
The original 14 October US letter, signed by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, warned that if Israel did not meet the listed demands it would be breaking US law and could face a cut to military aid.
The US determined on 13 November that Israel was not breaching US domestic law and has continued providing it with military support as it wages a deadly war on Gaza, with furious strikes and an intensified siege on the north of the territory.
Aid agencies have decried the US decision.
Denial of ethnic cleansing
In its response, signed by Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz and Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, Israel claimed it had increased humanitarian aid, with at least 250 aid trucks entering the strip per day.
This is short of the 350 demanded by the US, but Israel blamed UN agencies for the short fall.
It also says that it can “verify enough trucks enter north Gaza”. Aid agencies and humanitarian workers in north Gaza say that there is still a severe shortfall of aid to Gaza, especially the north.
The letter also said that Israel opened a fifth crossing point, which had been demanded by the US.
Israel also claims “that it had no and has no policy of forced evacuations from anywhere in the Gaza Strip, including northern Gaza.”
Additionally, the letter claims that Israel has not issued orders for evacuation but rather, “warns the civilians population in a certain area, prior to operating in that area, in accordance with the laws of armed conflict.”
“No civilian is forced to leave,” the letter claims.
Over 90 percent of Gaza’s population has been displaced as a result of Israel’s war, with many people having to flee multiple times.
Israel is also believed to be implementing a “General’s Plan” designed to kill, starve, or expel the remaining inhabitants of northern Gaza, but the letter denied this.
A recent Human Rights Watch report published on 14 November found that not only do Israeli evacuation orders amount to war crimes, but they are also acts of forced displacement and that as well as being widespread and systematic, they “appear to also meet the definition of ethnic cleansing.”
UNRWA
The Israeli response letter also addressed US concerns about the outlawing of UNRWA operations in Gaza, Israel and the occupied West Bank.
The letter claims that the Israeli Knesset voted to outlaw UNRWA because the international community did not take seriously Israel’s supposed “evidence” of Hamas infiltration of the organisation.
An investigation by the UN into Israel’s claims found no evidence that any UNRWA staff members were affiliated with Hamas, even though nine people were fired “in the interests of the agency”.
Israel claims it is working to find alternatives for aid provision in Gaza, and will hand over responsibility of service provision in occupied East Jerusalem to Israeli municipal authorities, while transferring UNRWA services in the occupied West Bank to the Palestinian Authority.
Other issues addressed in the letter include the protection of humanitarian workers, ensuring winter provision for Gaza, and establishing an aid corridor for the Jordanian Armed Forces.
After the US announced that Israel had not been violating US law, eight aid organisations published a 19-page report that found Israel had in fact failed to meet US criteria, and had taken actions to worsen the situation in north Gaza.
The report “urges the US government and other governments to hold Israel accountable for its legal obligations, emphasising that non-compliance should have significant consequences for bilateral security relationships, including suspending the transfer of lethal arms.”
Israel’s war on the enclave, which is in its 14th month, has killed 44,056 people and wounded a further 104,268 others.
Since the Israeli letter was released, the ICC has issued arrest warrants for both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for crimes against humanity and war crimes.