The Biden administration, already in a weeks-long limbo over a cease-fire deal, is now grappling with how to respond to the United Kingdom’s decision to suspend some arms contracts with Israel.
That tension spilled out in public over a central question at the State Department on Monday: Did the administration agree with its ally’s determination that there was a “clear risk” Israel could use foreign arms in violation of international humanitarian law, or not?
“It’s not that we disagree with the U.K. position, it’s that the U.K. makes an assessment based on their legal framework,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.