Trump has revoked Biden-era policies urged by Israel’s War of Gaza and has restricted US arms sales against human rights concerns.
Reports say the White House has revoked a key policy order that links the sale of arms to international human rights law.
President Donald Trump ordered major policies to be scrapped, the Washington Post reported Monday, citing an unknown source.
The order signed by Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden amid concerns over Israel’s actions during the war with Gaza, aimed at preventing US arms sales from contributing to human rights abuse overseas .
Sources told Daily that national security adviser Mike Waltz had issued a memo officializing the decision.
The National Security Memorandum-20 signed by Biden in February 2024 required assurance that US weapons would not be used in violation of international humanitarian law. The measure was seen as a response to growing concerns that Israel was committing human rights violations amidst the fires in Gaza.
The memorandum was one of the few remaining Biden policies to deal with conflict. All mentions of the memorandum have been scrubbed from the White House website and searches resulted in a 404 error.
The May 2024 report mandated by the Memorandum of Understanding may violate international humanitarian law, but the Biden administration can examine specific cases of civilian harm due to ongoing war. He said there was no.
Trump’s decision to overturn the memorandum follows a move to lift the shipment of heavy weapons to Israel and lift sanctions on Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.
On February 7, the Trump administration approved the sale of more than $7.4 billion in bombs, missiles and related military equipment to Israel.
The latest move effectively removes the last trace of Biden’s policy regarding the Gaza War, which killed at least 48,346 people and injured more than 111,759 people.
“It’s embarrassing”
Senator Chris Van Hollen, a prominent defender of the Memorandum, denounced the move to scrap it and called it “shameful” and called it global human rights, US national security and the world’s world It took a blow to the position.
He added that reversals undermine taxpayers’ ability to match US law and values.
“This is another clear example of Trump’s blatant indifference to American values,” he said.
Sen. Jim Rich, a Republican and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, welcomed the move.
He criticized the original order as a political manipulation that was considered a way to embarrass our allies, Israel, at times necessary, and the policy was to benefit rivals such as Russia and China, and to create a US alliance. He claimed it had weakened.