US gives Israel ‘unsatisfactory’ grade for improving aid to Gaza

WASHINGTON – The Biden administration is stepping up criticism of Israel for Not enough to be done to improve the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip as a 30-day deadline looms for Israeli officials to meet certain demands or risk facing potential restrictions on military aid.

The administration also condemns recent violence against Palestinians in the West Bank by extremist Jewish settlers and says those responsible must be held accountable.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller on Monday gave Israel an “unsatisfactory” rating for meeting the conditions outlined in the document for improving aid supplies to the Gaza Strip. letter last month to senior Israeli officials Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

He said there were about nine days left before the deadline, but this limited progress was not yet enough.

“To date, the situation has not changed significantly,” Miller told reporters. “We are seeing an increase in some indicators. But if you look at the recommendations provided in the letter, they were not implemented.”

The day before US electionsBiden administration calls on close ally to support Israel key issue for many voters and the humanitarian crisis for the Palestinians is also a factor for many in the election race. Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris were fighting for Muslim and Arab American voters and Jewish voters in states such as Michigan and Pennsylvania.

Among other conditions, the mid-October letter from Austin and Blinken said Israel must allow the entry of a minimum of 350 truckloads per day of desperately needed food and other goods for Palestinians besieged by more than a year of war between Israel and Hamas. By the end of October, an average of just 71 trucks a day were entering Gaza, according to the latest UN data.

“The results today are not good enough,” Miller said. “Of course they don’t have a pass. … They failed to implement everything we recommended. However, we have not yet reached the end of the 30-day period.”

When asked what the US will do when the deadline arrives next week, he did not answer, only saying that “we will follow the law.”

Likewise, Austin has emphasized “how important it is to ensure that humanitarian aid can get in and get to Gaza more quickly” in conversations with his Israeli counterpart, Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters Monday.

The Israeli military body responsible for humanitarian aid to Gaza, known as COGAT. stated that 72 patients were evacuated from hospitals in northern Gaza to other medical facilities on Monday and brought medicines, as well as fuel, food, water and blood units.

The head of UNICEF, the UN children’s agency, said over the weekend that “the entire Palestinian population of northern Gaza, especially children, is at imminent risk of death from disease, hunger and ongoing bombing.”

Miller also said that the United States is studying the decision of the Israeli government terminate the agreement promoting the work of the UN agency for Palestine refugees, known as UNRWA, which main aid provider in the Gaza Strip.

This followed adoption of Israeli laws Last week they cut ties with UNRWA, a move Blinken and Austin opposed in their letter.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday that it had notified the UN of the cancellation of the 1967 agreement that facilitates the work of UNRWA. The statement said UNRWA “is part of the problem in Gaza, not part of the solution.”

Israel claims that UNRWA Hamas has infiltrated the country, which the agency denies and says it is taking steps to ensure its neutrality.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reiterated that UNRWA is essential and there is no alternative to its work in the Palestinian territories, spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

At the same time, Miller said the United States is “deeply concerned” by the recent escalation of attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians in the West Bank, including several vehicles set on fire overnight just a few kilometers (miles) from Palestinian Authority headquarters and attacks on Palestinians. collecting olives, their livestock and other property.

“These violent acts cause great human suffering to the Palestinians and threaten the security of Israel,” Miller said. “It is critical that the Government of Israel curb extremist settler violence and take measures to protect all communities from harm, in accordance with its international obligations.”

He noted that the United States had imposed sanctions on Israeli groups and people involved in violence against Palestinian civilians since the beginning of the year, and warned that there would be more to come.

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AP reporters Ellen Knickmeyer and Lolita K. Baldor in Washington and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed.