Reps. Crow, Dean, Houlahan Lead 74 Colleagues in Letter to the Biden Administration Seeking Assessment of Israel’s Compliance with US Laws and Policies

WASHINGTON — Today, Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO-06), Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Accountability, as well as Reps. Madeleine Dean (D-PA-04) and Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA-04), led a letter with 74 of their House colleagues urging the Biden Administration to provide their full assessment of the status of Israel’s compliance with relevant U.S. policies and laws, including National Security Memorandum 20 (NSM-20) and Section 620I of the Foreign Assistance Act.

In the letter addressed to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, the Members reaffirm their support for Israel’s right to self-defense, condemn the brutal terrorist attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023, and call on Hamas to release all remaining hostages, while also expressing their deep concern for the continued level of civilian casualties and humanitarian suffering in Gaza.

The Members specifically highlight concerns that Secretaries Blinken and Austin recently raised in a letter to the Israeli government, which established a 30-day deadline to “reverse the downward humanitarian trajectory” in Gaza and fulfill requirements consistent with Israel’s March 2024 assurances that its actions are compliant with U.S. and international law, including facilitating and not arbitrarily restricting humanitarian assistance.

That deadline has expired, and while some progress has been made, the signers believe the Israeli government has not yet fulfilled the requirements outlined in that letter.

“Therefore we request that your Administration provide a full assessment of the status of Israel’s compliance with all relevant U.S. policies and laws, including National Security Memorandum 20 (NSM20) and Section 620I of the Foreign Assistance Act,” the Members said in the letter. 

The Members continued: “We believe further administrative action must be taken to ensure Israel upholds the assurances it provided in March 2024 to facilitate, and not directly or indirectly obstruct, U.S. humanitarian assistance. We remain committed to a negotiated solution that can bring an end to the fighting, free the remaining hostages, surge humanitarian aid, and lay the groundwork to rebuild Gaza with a legitimate Palestinian governing body.”

In addition to Reps. Crow, Dean, Houlahan, and 74 other signatories, this letter is endorsed by groups such as the Center for International Policy, Foreign Policy For America, and J Street.

This letter follows Rep. Crow’s work to ensure Israel is fighting in line with US values. In May 2024, he led a similar letter with Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-PA-17) and 86 of his House colleagues urging the Biden Administration to enforce US law and policy regarding US humanitarian aid to Gaza. Before that, he sent a letter to ODNI Director Avril Haines seeking information on the US-Israel intel sharing relationship, as well as a separate letter urging the Biden Administration to demand a shift in Israeli military strategy.

A PDF of the letter can be found here, with full text appearing below:  

December 12, 2024

Dear Secretaries Blinken and Austin: We strongly support Israel’s right to self-defense and condemn the brutal terrorist attack by Hamas on October 7, in which Hamas killed over 1,200 people and took 235 people hostage. We continue to call on Hamas to release all hostages and support the Biden Administration’s efforts to broker a bilateral ceasefire that includes the release of hostages. We also support U.S. efforts to reach a security agreement between Israel and Lebanon to end the fighting, allow citizens on both sides of the border to return home, and lower regional tensions. Further, we condemn the unprecedented Iranian attacks against Israel launched on April 13, 2024, and October 1, 2024. We must continue to avoid a major regional conflict – and we welcome the concerted diplomatic efforts by the U.S. and our allies to prevent further escalation. 

We are also deeply troubled by the continued level of civilian casualties and humanitarian suffering in Gaza. We welcomed the October 13th letter you sent to the Israeli government, imposing a 30-day deadline to “reverse the downward humanitarian trajectory” in Gaza and fulfill requirements consistent with Israel’s March 2024 assurances that its actions are compliant with U.S. and international law, including facilitating humanitarian assistance. That deadline has expired, and while some progress has been made, we believe the Israeli government has not yet fulfilled the requirements outlined in your letter. 

Therefore we request that your Administration provide a full assessment of the status of Israel’s compliance with all relevant U.S. policies and laws, including National Security Memorandum 20 (NSM20) and Section 620I of the Foreign Assistance Act. 

This request is consistent with one made by many of us in a May letter to the Administration in which we raised similar concerns regarding the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and urged enforcement of NSM-20. 

Our concerns remain urgent and largely unresolved, including arbitrary restrictions on humanitarian aid and insufficient delivery routes, among others. As a result, Gaza’s civilian population is facing dire famine. As documented in the State Department’s May 10th NSM-20 report, although overall access to humanitarian aid has improved, it remains insufficient and there are credible reports of potential breaches of U.S. law. Further, on October 28th, State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said, that “At this point, they’re not meeting all the conditions of the letter” with reference to Israel. 

We believe further administrative action must be taken to ensure Israel upholds the assurances it provided in March 2024 to facilitate, and not directly or indirectly obstruct, U.S. humanitarian assistance. We remain committed to a negotiated solution that can bring an end to the fighting, free the remaining hostages, surge humanitarian aid, and lay the groundwork to rebuild Gaza with a legitimate Palestinian governing body. We thank you and the Administration for its ongoing work to achieve those shared goals. 

###