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Published by the Federation of American Scientists Fund No.
48 (August 2002)
Israel's military campaign against Palestinian extremists took another ugly turn on July 23rd when Israeli F-16s dropped a 2000 lb bomb on an apartment complex housing Salah Shehada, the leader of the military wing of Hamas. The bomb leveled three apartment buildings, killed 15 people (including 9 children), and injured many dozens more. Adding to a chorus of international criticism, President Bush called the attack "heavy handed" and announced that the State Department would investigate.
The Bush administration's decision to look into the incident marks a small improvement over past U.S. responses to Israeli excesses. By repeatedly failing to investigate Israeli use of U.S. arms in the past, the U.S. government has been undermining its own export laws. The Arms Export Control Act prohibits weapons sales for purposes other than internal security, legitimate self-defense and use in regional and collective arrangements that are consistent with the UN Charter. Suspected breaches of this law are to be reported to Congress and, if the President determines that a violation has occurred, legislators or the President can then block weapons sales to offending country.
Critics of sanctions against Israel emphasize the volatility of the region, asserting that a perceived loss of U.S. support could embolden Israel's enemies and lead to more violence. This argument downplays the damage done by Washington's unconditional support for Israel, which encourages the Israeli government to continue its counterproductive military actions and damages U.S. credibility as a mediator in the conflict. In addition, allowing Israel to violate U.S. export laws with impunity sends a message to Israel and other arms importers that when geostrategic questions are at play, U.S. laws can be broken. Finally, under international law, by providing the weapons used to violate humanitarian law (in this case the deliberate targeting of a civilian site), the U.S. government shares the responsibility for the violation.
