Sarah Elaine Harrison @Seharrison7 Twitter profile | Pikagi

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Sarah Elaine Harrison

@Seharrison7

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Senior Analyst, U.S. Program @CrisisGroup | Former DoD attorney | Views are my own

ATX / DC

https://t.co/c2gVayRNph

Joined June 2017

Don't wanna be here? Send us removal request.

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

6 months

I spoke with Isaac Chotiner @NewYorker about intl humanitarian law, US laws governing security assistance, and how Biden’s policy to not condition military assistance to Israel plays a significant role in the interpretation and application of those laws.

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Why Israel’s Approach to Civilian Casualties May Not Affect U.S. Support

An analyst with the International Crisis Group on how strikes are being carried out in Gaza and whether the Biden Administration is ignoring American laws by continuing to provide Netanyahu with...

www.newyorker.com

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

11 months

When I was at DoD advising on the Leahy laws and complained about this to a senior official they said to me “It’s Israel, Sarah” as if that’s all that needed to be said.

@mattduss

Matt Duss

11 months

It’s pretty much an open secret that Israel is exempt from these laws because administrations don’t want the domestic political fight that would ensue if they chose to enforce them.

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Sarah Elaine Harrison

9 months

Apparently it’s possible to not *once* mention Israel in an interview on Israel starving the people of Gaza

@IChotiner

Isaac Chotiner

9 months

New Interview: I talked to Arif Husain, the chief economist of the World Food Programme, about the food crisis in Gaza, why it may get worse, and what it means for Gaza’s children.

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

1 month

If you need to hear it from a former DoD attorney who advised on the law of war: This is an absolutely deranged view and does not in the slightest comply with the law.

@jasonhickel

Jason Hickel

1 month

An Israeli commander says his unit killed "6,000 terrorists" in Gaza. When asked "How do you identify who is a terrorist?" He answered: "whoever did not flee, even if he was unarmed, as far as we were concerned, was a terrorist."

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

10 days

This was my experience in government. If bureaucrats determined Israel’s actions triggered US law restricting the transfer of arms, political leadership would ignore them. It didn’t matter that the civil servants writing the memos were the most informed on these issues.

@BrettMmurphy

Brett Murphy

10 days

Leaked docs: While Gaza starved, USAID and State's refugees bureau came to a legally explosive conclusion — Israel had deliberately prevented food & medicine from getting in But Blinken told congress the exact opposite, so the arms could keep flowing.

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Sarah Elaine Harrison

6 months

I can assure you, the only thing they take seriously is avoiding a determination that Israel didn't comply with the law. I experienced it firsthand. It is a political calculation, not an objective assessment of the facts.

@prem_thakker

Prem Thakker

6 months

Q: President said it was policy to prevent arms transfers that risked humanitarian law violations. Is killing people delivering food not a violation? White House: No evidence this was deliberate. The State Department hasn't found any incident of Israel violating humanitarian law

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

6 months

Why is this newsworthy? We know the admin is dodging applying the laws and policies on the books related to cutting security assistance to Israel. Well, I advised on the Leahy laws while at DoD, and I think this is newsworthy and requires congressional scrutiny for two reasons:

@BrettMmurphy

Brett Murphy

6 months

New: Blinken has known for months his own experts concluded multiple Israeli units should be disqualified from U.S. aid for flagrant human rights abuses. And for months, he's sat on those recommendations. "They've been sitting in his briefcase."

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

9 months

U.S. law prohibits President Biden from providing security assistance to any country that prohibits or otherwise restricts, directly or indirectly, the transport or delivery of U.S. humanitarian assistance (which includes UN assistance funded by the U.S.).

@UNReliefChief

UN Relief Chief

9 months

You think getting aid into Gaza is easy? Think again.

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

6 months

Cutting assistance under the Leahy laws is not a sanction. It’s not discretionary, it’s mandated by US law when there is credible info a unit of a foreign security force committed a gross violation of human rights — the worst kind of crimes. No country in the world is exempt.

@BarakRavid

Barak Ravid

6 months

Netanyahu: Sanctions must not be imposed on the Israel Defense Forces. In recent weeks, I have been working against the imposition of sanctions on Israeli citizens, including in my conversations with senior American government officials. At a time when our soldiers are fighting

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

6 months

This is some of the clearest reporting that the State Department, through Secretary Blinken himself, is refusing to comply with the law — confirming past reporting that there is in fact a double standard when it comes to Israel.

@BrettMmurphy

Brett Murphy

6 months

New: Blinken has known for months his own experts concluded multiple Israeli units should be disqualified from U.S. aid for flagrant human rights abuses. And for months, he's sat on those recommendations. "They've been sitting in his briefcase."

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

6 months

It might be helpful to walk through some issues related to reports that the USG is finally applying the Leahy laws to Israel--even though reports say it is just one unit. BLUF: It is symbolically *significant*, but its impact will do *very little* to stem harm to Palestinians🧵

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

4 months

U.S. law is clear that Israel can’t get U.S. bombs if Israel restricts U.S. humanitarian aid. What isn’t clear is the Biden administration’s commitment to upholding that law.

@PowerUSAID

Samantha Power

4 months

Our humanitarian partners working in Gaza tell us that conditions are worse now than ever before. Israeli military operations & closed crossings are making it extremely difficult to distribute aid. Today I convened fellow donor govts to surge our response to those in dire need.

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

8 months

I worked as an attorney in the Office of General Counsel at DoD and advised on US law governing security assistance to foreign countries. Here are my thoughts on NSM-20 and its application in the context of Israel:

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National Security Memorandum on Safeguards and Accountability With Respect to Transferred Defense...

NATIONAL SECURITY MEMORANDUM/NSM-20MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF STATE THE SECRETARY OF

www.whitehouse.gov

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

11 months

This is a big deal. DoD doesn’t typically raise concerns about war crimes by partners or allies, let alone Israel (a category of its own).

@HindHassanNews

Hind Hassan

@HindHassanNews

11 months

We learnt that U.S. Department of Defense officials relayed warnings to White House officials that Israel risked committing a war crime after it demanded over a million Palestinians in Gaza evacuate the north of the strip on the 12th of October.

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

8 months

The fundamental and cosmic failing of policy towards Israel is the US's refusal to condition military aid on compliance with intl law--meaning no U.S. weapons if continued illegal settlements, indiscriminate bombing, inhumane treatment of detainees, starvation of civilians, etc.

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

23 days

A reminder that the U.S. went to war 23 years ago and, despite what government officials tell you, it is still at war. Americans might not be aware of the bombs being dropped by U.S. forces, but Somalis, Yemenis, Syrians and Iraqis are.

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

2 years

In its report on the Nablus raid, @nytimes describes time-stamped footage that appears to show IDF shooting “at least two unarmed Palestinians as they ran away from gunfire.”

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At Least 10 Palestinians Killed During Israeli Raid in West Bank (Published 2023)

An hourslong gunfight broke out between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian gunmen during an Israeli operation to arrest Palestinian fighters. The violence left the region braced for further unrest.

www.nytimes.com

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

6 months

1. Not a sanction 2. Such a plea puts in doubt the binding agreement in place between Israel and the U.S. that Israel will cut assistance to units prohibited under the Leahy laws 3. Still unanswered question whether this unit even currently receives granted U.S. assistance

@BarakRavid

Barak Ravid

6 months

BREAKING: Israeli Minister Benny Gantz spoke on the phone with Secretary of State Blinken and asked him to reconsider the decision to sanction the IDF "Netzah Yehuda" battalion, Gantz's office said

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

1 year

After ~2 years of research, informed by more than 200 interviews, we have published our @CrisisGroup report on U.S. policy in Somalia. I encourage those interested in this topic and looking for nuance (which is lost on Twitter) to read it in full. 🧵

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Out of the Box: How to Rebalance U.S. Somalia Policy | Crisis Group

U.S. President Joe Biden promised to end the “forever wars” launched after the 9/11 attacks. In Somalia, however, his administration has reinvigorated a flawed military-first approach to battling...

www.crisisgroup.org

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

6 months

and (2) The bureaucracy is still hemming and hawing over 620I and other relevant laws and policies. The fact that there are memos *with the secretary*, cleared by relevant offices, shows SecState himself is refusing to apply the law as advised by his own policymakers and lawyers.

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

6 months

Typically there has been disagreement much lower down the chain on whether an Israeli unit is tainted under the law (ie, there is credible info it committed a gross violation of human rights). The fact that the reach of the Leahy law is being thwarted directly by SecState is new.

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

6 months

(1) Based on the reporting, these cases don't seem to have split memos. Which means, from the lowest levels of State, all the way up to Blinken, officials appear to agree these units should be cut from receiving US assistance. To my knowledge, that has never happened for Israel.

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

8 months

My bottom line: While a step forward, I worry how this doesn't avoid being lipstick on a pig -- another performative measure stirring up busy-bodied lawyers and policymakers in the bureaucracy, ultimately resulting in business as usual w/r/t arms transfers to Israel

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

6 months

SecState seems to imply he will sign off on the recommendations by State Department policymakers and lawyers, as reported by @BrettMmurphy , to cut assistance to at least some Israeli units. This is a big deal. However, we *might* not actually know which units, and here's why:

@John_Hudson

John Hudson

6 months

When asked about accusations that Israel violated Leahy Law, which concerns human rights violations of countries that receive U.S. military assistance, Blinken said “You’ll see results very soon. I’ve made determinations. You can expect to see them in the days ahead.”

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

6 months

This statement appears to undermine the international agreement in place between the U.S. and Israel to ensure units prohibited from receiving U.S. assistance under the Leahy laws are actually cut off.

@gantzbe

בני גנץ - Benny Gantz

6 months

The ‘Netzah Yehuda’ battalion is an inseparable part of the Israel Defense Forces. It is subject to military law and is responsible for operating in full compliance with International law. The State of Israel has a strong, independent judicial system that evaluates meticulously

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

8 months

My skepticism is fueled by the admin's knee-jerk decision to suspend funding to @UNRWA , support a $14B weapons package to Israel, and refusal to condition military assistance as the IDF prepares for operations in Rafah -- all which contradict the purported policy aims of this NSM

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

2 months

Any country with a steadfast commitment to the Geneva Conventions would withhold the transfer of weapons to countries that have a record of non-compliance

@SecBlinken

Secretary Antony Blinken

2 months

Today we commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the Geneva Conventions of 1949. The United States reaffirms our steadfast commitment to respecting international humanitarian law and mitigating suffering in armed conflict. We call on others to do the same.

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

3 years

Since there might be a 5th (!) West African #coup developing, below is a thread to help address this question: Why is the U.S. Department of State (State) slow to call a spade a spade/a coup a coup?

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

1 year

This is an environment that has been cultivated by democratic and republican administrations alike. If you work in the federal government and question anything Israel does you are sidelined and silenced.

@AkbarSAhmed

Akbar Shahid Ahmed

1 year

EXCLU: US officials describe "a culture of silence" on Israel-Palestine That's stifling policy debate, some say, amid fears of being seen as "un-American," esp among Muslims “The pride I felt serving Biden has given way to deep shame," one official said

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Sarah Elaine Harrison

8 months

The Biden administration should be going absolutely berserk —in public and private—over the looming catastrophe posed by IDF operations in Rafah

@BCFinucane

Brian Finucane

8 months

"Each strike killed multiple members of three families, including a total of 10 children, the youngest 3 months old." Israeli strikes kill 44 Palestinians in Rafah after Netanyahu says ground invasion is coming there

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

2 years

In a new @ForeignPolicy piece, my @CrisisGroup colleague @BCFinucane describes the historic U.S. position on annexations and argues that the legal rationale w/r/t the Golan Heights is "thin and inconsistent." What should @POTUS do? Reverse the decision.

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Biden Can’t Denounce Russia’s Annexations and Ignore Israel’s

From the Baltic Republics to Crimea, Washington has opposed forcible annexation—and the Golan Heights should be no exception.

foreignpolicy.com

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

6 months

A Leahy designation of one unit will not slow the violence in Gaza or the WB. Despite cries from Israeli leaders that this is an outrage, it really isn't. And while the slow shift away from special treatment *is* newsworthy, we shouldn't lose the forest for the trees.

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

7 months

This is so shameful. There are other much more efficient ways the U.S. could ensure aid gets into Gaza, but that would require the political and moral courage of this administration. Do it, use your leverage.

@afalkhatib

Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib

7 months

The White House is examining options to begin airdropping aid into Gaza as the humanitarian situation worsens & famine sets in, esp. in Gaza's north, which is isolated. The US Air Force has vast air cargo capacity to effectively airdrop food & aid, saturating the Strip with help.

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

8 months

Now, the policy does two main things: (1) requires written assurances from recipient countries before U.S. arms transfers and (2) lays out oversight reporting to Congress. What it does *not* do is mandate prohibitions on arms transfers if a recipient country is violating intl law

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

6 months

So Q #1 : Why did SecState only approve this one unit--a notoriously violent unit--and not the others, if, as reported, multiple units were recommended by his staff to be prohibited from receiving assistance under the State Leahy law?

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

8 months

Relatedly, it's peculiar for the NSM to reference the CAT policy, Leahy laws, 620I, and end-use monitoring given the first three have not been applied to Israel and end-use monitoring requirements are interpreted by the State Department to not require monitoring of actual *use*

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

6 months

But new reporting suggests Blinken only agrees that one unit should be prohibited from receiving US assistance: the Netzach Yehuda battalion. @MairavZ and I briefly discussed this unit when we published this article on Shireen Abu Akleh's killing:

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Shireen Abu Akleh’s Killing Raises Questions about U.S. Security Assistance to Israel

U.S. officials should ensure the Leahy laws are applied consistently to all countries, including Israel.

www.justsecurity.org

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

6 months

For starters, there are two Leahy laws, one for State and one for DoD. They prohibit US assistance (under the FAA & AECA & w/use of DoD $) to a unit of a foreign security force if SecState or SecDef have credible information the unit committed a gross violation of human rights.

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

8 months

Further, & I think more notable than the waiver, is that Israel has a vastly diff interpretation of what is acceptable under intl law than many nations, and at least differs somewhat with the US -- eg, what is "disproportionate" under IHL has been a point of contention post-Oct 7

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

6 months

Was this a way to appease critics--who say State isn't applying the law to Israel--by applying the law to a unit that is low-hanging fruit (the battalion's actions led to the death of a US citizen) while quietly finding reasons to not prohibit assistance to the other units?

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

2 years

Our @CrisisGroup President @EroComfort also gave the below speech today at the @UN Security Council on counterterrorism in Africa. In it, she underscores that military "operations must be subordinate to a political strategy" that contemplates dialogue.

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Speech to the UN Security Council on Counter-terrorism in Africa | Crisis Group

On 10 November, Crisis Group’s President & CEO Comfort Ero spoke to the UN Security Council about stabilisation and counter-terrorism missions on the African continent.

www.crisisgroup.org

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

6 months

I don't know the answer, but we should be asking why Secretary Blinken didn't agree with cutting assistance to the other units *if* that was what State Department officials recommended.

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

6 months

It's complicated, though there is def symbolic significance. It contributes to what @MairavZ describes as "de-exceptionalizing Israel." Bc Israel has received special treatment under US laws and policies for decades, this is a small but necessary step towards correcting that.

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

1 month

@XE1000A Wrong. People are not lawful targets in war just because they don’t leave an area.

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

6 months

Last week, @BrettMmurphy reported that Blinken has been sitting for months on recommendations from officials in his department to cut assistance under the Leahy laws to "multiple units":

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Blinken Is Sitting on Staff Recommendations to Sanction Israeli Military Units Linked to Killings...

A special State Department panel told Secretary of State Antony Blinken that the U.S. should restrict arms sales to Israeli military units that have been credibly accused of human rights abuses. He...

www.propublica.org

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

8 months

Re (i): Israel *already provides* assurances to the U.S. that it complies with intl law. It will now have to do so in writing, though the loophole to note here is that SecState and SecDef can waive this requirement under "extraordinary circumstances"

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

11 months

Jon Finer is the Deputy National Security advisor to the President of the United States. He has a team of lawyers in the White House who should be telling him it’s legally required for the administration to assess Israel’s compliance w international law.

@MeetThePress

Meet the Press

11 months

NEW: "Are you confident that Israel is following international law, yes or no?" @kwelkernbc asks. Dep. NSA Jon Finer: "It is our position that it needs to." @kwelkernbc : "Are you confident they are?" "It is not our position ... to play real-time judge and jury."

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

2 years

The Leahy laws prohibit the Departments of State and Defense from providing assistance to a unit of a foreign security force when there is credible information (which can include credible video footage) the unit committed a gross violation of human rights.

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

6 months

Q #2 : How do we know US assistance will be restricted? We know that Gantz and Netanyahu have both come out strongly against the reports that there is a Leahy law designation (incorrectly reported as a "sanction"). So how will cutting assistance work?

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

6 months

Israeli leadership's public resistance to upholding an agreement with the US calls into question Israel's commitment to restricting assistance wrt the Leahy law. Some might argue such pushback calls into question the credibility of other Israeli assurances to the US.

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

6 months

Due to the nature of "untraceable assistance" (assistance provided up-front to countries that then later disperse it to non-vetted units) Congress required State to enter into agreements with certain countries in which they commit to comply with potential Leahy law prohibitions.

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

6 months

As @John_Hudson has been reporting, US arms continue to flow to Israel and US arms have been contributing to significant civilian harm:

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U.S. signs off on more bombs, warplanes for Israel

Despite the U.S. and Israeli governments’ growing rift over the Gaza war, the Biden administration continues to authorize major weapons transfers.

www.washingtonpost.com

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

1 month

The problem is obvious. Calling for a ceasefire while refusing to use leverage (ie, stop sending the bombs) is futile. Another speaker would make that point, but convention organizers don’t want criticisms lobbed at the president and nominee from the stage.

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

6 months

The laws only apply to state security forces and only apply to "gross violations of human rights": extrajudicial killings, rape, torture (the specific definition can be found in 502B(d)(1) of the Foreign Assistance Act).

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

6 months

But the impact on the ground is minimal in that (1) it does not apply to the sale of US arms--Israel can still use its $ to purchase US weapons for the unit & (2) it doesn't do much to address the broader Biden admin policy to not condition assistance to Israel.

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

6 months

A month ago President Biden started airdropping aid into Gaza and pledged to spend millions of dollars to build a floating pier. How many lives would have been saved had he just picked up the phone?

@BarakRavid

Barak Ravid

6 months

BREAKING: The Israeli security cabinet approved the opening of the Erez crossing with the Gaza strip for the first time since October 7 in order to allow more humanitarian aid to go in, Israeli official said

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Sarah Elaine Harrison

8 months

On (1) assurances: The NSM requires two kinds of assurances from states to receive U.S. defense articles: (i) it will use those U.S. weapons in compliance with intl law and (ii) in areas where using those defense articles, it will facilitate/not obstruct humanitarian assistance

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

2 years

The new @WhiteHouse airstrike policy, as reported by @charlie_savage , while meant to put a check on operations in places like Somalia, does not meaningfully change the status quo of @USAfricaCommand operations there.

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White House Tightens Rules on Counterterrorism Drone Strikes (Published 2022)

A classified new policy requires President Biden’s approval to add suspected terrorists to a kill list. The Trump administration had decentralized control over targeting decisions.

www.nytimes.com

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

6 months

The US has one of these agreements in place with Israel, signed on December 30, 2021, in which Israel agrees it "shall not provide any assistance...to any security force unit...identified...consistent with Section 620M" of the FAA (the State Leahy law).

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

6 months

To my knowledge and based on publicly available information, neither of these laws have ever been objectively applied to units of Israeli security forces.

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

6 months

Q #3 : Even if SecState sticks to the designation and US assistance is properly withheld in accordance with the agreement, does this determination really have any impact?

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

1 year

Grand statements on human rights from U.S. officials will continue to ring hollow in much of world if the U.S. insists on partnering with and arming predatory governments responsible for violating the very human rights the U.S. claims to stand for.

@StateDept

Department of State

1 year

. @SecBlinken : “Governments that violate human rights are almost always the same ones that flout other key parts of that order – such as invading, coercing, and threatening other countries, or breaking trade rules.” The U.S. will continue to take a stand for human rights for all.

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Sarah Elaine Harrison

2 years

Killing unarmed civilians by shooting them when they do not pose a threat is a gross violation of human rights. If credible information of such a violation exists, until the those responsible are held accountable, U.S. assistance must be prohibited from going to such a unit.

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

2 years

This kind of footage can be helpful when U.S. government officials assess whether units of foreign security forces (such as the IDF) remain eligible to receive U.S. security assistance under the Leahy laws.

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

2 years

My @CrisisGroup colleague @MairavZ and I wrote in @just_security about how Shireen Abu Akleh's killing-- recently back in the news due to a purported DOJ investigation--raises questions about how the U.S. applies the Leahy laws to Israel 🧵

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Shireen Abu Akleh’s Killing Raises Questions about U.S. Security Assistance to Israel

U.S. officials should ensure the Leahy laws are applied consistently to all countries, including Israel.

www.justsecurity.org

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

6 months

This is so full of inaccuracies about US law and policy it’s hard to know where to start. But I’ll say it again — Leahy law designations are *not sanctions*

@SaraHirschhorn1

Dr. Sara Yael Hirschhorn

@SaraHirschhorn1

6 months

Netzah Yehuda did bad things. Fullstop. But did Israel sanction U.S. army battalions for war crimes in Iraq & Afghanistan? And does USG sanction any other armies (Russia in Ukraine?!) that violate human rights? Singling out Israel as election virtue-signal - Biden, we see you:

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

8 months

Re (ii): The humanitarian assistance (HA)-related assurances are in furtherance of 620I of the FAA, which prohibits U.S. arms to a country that is restricting, directly or indirectly, HA. Israel has undoubtedly been obstructing HA into Gaza, yet US arms continue to flow to Israel

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

2 years

My research on why the DoD Leahy law does not apply to a little-known U.S. special forces authority and my argument for why it should is up on the new @IrregWarfare website. 🧵

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Congress Should Mandate Human Rights Vetting For Partner Forces: The Case For Closing The Section...

Section 127e reflects a significant gap in consistently considering human rights and rule of law values.

irregularwarfare.org

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

1 month

@XE1000A No. Parties to a conflict must presume a person has protected status until there is info available that indicates the person is a mil objective. Simply being in the vicinity of Hamas doesn’t make a person a member of Hamas.

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Sarah Elaine Harrison

7 months

Senator Van Hollen on 620I of the FAA: "Tell me how it's not the case, that Prime Minister Netanyahu is not restricting, directly or indirectly, the transport or deliver of United States humanitarian assistance when we have the humanitarian horror show that I just mentioned."

@ChrisVanHollen

Senator Chris Van Hollen

@ChrisVanHollen

7 months

It’s obvious PM Netanyahu & extremists in his govt like Ben-Gvir & Smotrich have restricted humanitarian aid to Gaza. They’ve said so. That’s why I recently took to the Senate Floor to call on the Biden Admin to use US law already on the books to get more aid to starving people⬇️

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Sarah Elaine Harrison

5 months

This is exactly the double standard former officials keep describing. Here we see Israel get special attn from Congress and an *immediate* response from SecState assuring them the relationship is ironclad. Plus Israel gets *years* to remediate units that have committed GVHRs.

@John_Hudson

John Hudson

5 months

No U.S. decision has been made on whether a key Israeli unit accused of gross violations of human rights has been held accountable and therefore can receive U.S. assistance, per sources. The letter Blinken sent to Mike Johnson was an update of play, not the final decision

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Sarah Elaine Harrison

8 months

But my concern remains that the intractable political calculations I personally experienced while in the USG, that prejudice the application of the laws and policies already on the books - the State and DoD Leahy laws, 620I, the CAT policy, etc - will be no different here.

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Sarah Elaine Harrison

11 months

Please stop saying “what about Hamas” when experts talk about applying US domestic law to Israel. The US doesn’t give Hamas $3.8B a year in security assistance.

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Sarah Elaine Harrison

2 months

The USG has dropped bombs in Somalia since 2007 and did so as recently as March. It reserves the right to drop more under both domestic and intl law. Peacetime doesn’t allow for dropping bombs. So either the USG is committing gross violations of human rights or it’s at war.

@atrupar

Aaron Rupar

2 months

Biden: "I'm the first president this century to report to the American people that the United States is not at war anywhere in the world."

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Sarah Elaine Harrison

1 month

What shouldn’t take years is the U.S. cutting assistance to the IDF units responsible for these gross violations of human rights, as the law requires

@MonicaLMarks

Monica Marks

1 month

"They told me to strip. That’s when I knew I was beginning my journey to hell.” More accounts of torture & rape of Palestinian detainees at Israel's prisons are emerging. Uncovering the scale of Israel's crimes in Sde Teiman alone will take years.

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Sarah Elaine Harrison

8 months

One incredibly limiting aspect of the HA-related assurances is that they only apply to areas of an armed conflict where US weapons are being used. This is problematic since (I) HA could be needed in an area where no weapons are being used (eg, Rafah pre-Feb) or

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

8 months

What is the DoD war reserve stockpile that sits in Israel, how does Israel receive weapons from it, and is there meaningful congressional oversight? @jwrchappell and I explain here:

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The "War Reserve Stockpile Allies - Israel" Explained & Why Congress Should Not Expand It

Congress should not remove restrictions on transfers to and from the Defense Department's War Reserves Stockpile in Israel.

www.justsecurity.org

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

2 years

. @MairavZ and I walk through this analysis of the Leahy laws in this article and question whether the laws have been adequately applied to Israel's security forces:

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Shireen Abu Akleh’s Killing Raises Questions about U.S. Security Assistance to Israel

U.S. officials should ensure the Leahy laws are applied consistently to all countries, including Israel.

www.justsecurity.org

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Sarah Elaine Harrison

6 months

“sitting on” = not complying with the law

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

2 years

Gross violations of human rights include extrajudicial killing; torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment; or rape under the color of law. See the specific definition the U.S. government refers to in 502B(d)(1) of the Foreign Assistance Act.

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Sarah Elaine Harrison

6 months

I told The Guardian “You can’t just set a tolerable number [of civilian casualties] for a category of targets and say that it’ll be lawfully proportionate in each case.” Such an approach ignores fundamental requirements of IHL.

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‘The machine did it coldly’: Israel used AI to identify 37,000 Hamas targets

Israeli intelligence sources reveal use of ‘Lavender’ system in Gaza war and claim permission given to kill civilians in pursuit of low-ranking militants

www.theguardian.com

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Sarah Elaine Harrison

1 month

Thank you @MarkRuffalo for highlighting these important laws. Here is some background on what’s been happening with 620I of the Foreign Assistance Act under the Biden administration 🧵

@MarkRuffalo

Mark Ruffalo

1 month

Dear @POTUS @JoeBiden and @VP @KamalaHarris … Section 620I of the Foreign Assistance Act prohibits security assistance or arms sales to any country that restricts U.S. humanitarian assistance. Section 502B of the same law prohibits security aid to any government engaged in a

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Sarah Elaine Harrison

8 months

(II) countries could strategically use US weapons where they are willing to facilitate HA and not use them in areas where they do not want to facilitate HA

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

4 months

This exchange exposes the U.S. government’s end-use monitoring program for what it is: a program that does not actually monitor *use* of U.S. weapons

@AssalRad

Assal Rad

4 months

. @SMArikat : CNN and NYT determined US weapons were used in Rafah StateSpox: I’m gonna let the IDF speak to their investigation Said: I’m asking you, is this a US weapon? Patel: It’s not for us to speak to, the IDF will investigate The US can’t speak to the use of US weapons?

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Sarah Elaine Harrison

5 months

There is a lot to unpack re the supposedly remediated units of Israeli security forces after State determined there was credible information they committed gross violations of human rights + the one unit left that is apparently in the process of remediation 🧵

@ElizHagedorn

Elizabeth Hagedorn

5 months

NEW: State Department confirms 5 Israeli units were responsible for gross violations of human rights, per the Leahy law. 4 of the 5 units have "effectively remediated these violations." Israel "submitted additional info" regarding the remaining unit. No decision yet.

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Sarah Elaine Harrison

8 months

On (2) reporting requirements: This might actually be the better half of the NSM -- if done right, the reports to Congress could provide useful tools for lawmakers to conduct oversight of arms transfers and application of US law (eg, reporting requirement on compliance with 620I)

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Sarah Elaine Harrison

2 years

Biden approved more troops and airstrikes in Somalia. Over-reliance on the military and meager efforts on policy to address drivers of conflict will continue to fuel the forever war. W/a new admin in Somalia, it’s time for the United States to reassess its militarized approach.

@EricSchmittNYT

Eric Schmitt

@EricSchmittNYT

2 years

NEW: Biden's decisions will revive an open-ended American counterterrorism operation that has amounted to a slow-burn war through three administrations w/ @charlie_savage

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Sarah Elaine Harrison

8 months

This point on HA assurances gets at a larger issue of limitation within the entire NSM -- it only applies to the ways in which *U.S. defense articles* are used, not the overall activities of a foreign force that might source its defense articles/weapons from a variety of places

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

5 months

Netanyahu says he’ll fight Leahy designations of IDF units with all his strength. The problem with this is twofold (1) it’s not how the law works—there is no negotiation & (2) such statements undermine the binding agreement in place with the U.S. to implement the law.

@NewsHour

PBS News

5 months

The U.S. is considering imposing sanctions on an Israeli military unit accused of human rights abuses against Palestinians. "There's important symbolic significance because the law has never been interpreted to restrict assistance to Israeli security forces," @Seharrison7 said.

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Sarah Elaine Harrison

2 years

Why the public should care about U.S. airstrikes in Somalia: (1) Congress never authorized them (2) @POTUS continues to keep secret the policies that guide them (3) Officials say that even with policy restrictions these look more like close air support than defensive strikes

@USAfricaCommand

U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM)

@USAfricaCommand

2 years

In support of Somali National Army engagements against al-Shabaab, U.S. Africa Command conducted a collective self-defense strike on Feb 15, 2023.

Tweet media one

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Sarah Elaine Harrison

7 months

This statement from POTUS underscores how Israel is in violation of 620I ("eye") of the FAA. This means Israel cannot receive any U.S. assistance (eg, weapons) unless POTUS decides it's in the national security interests of the U.S. to keep sending and explain why to Congress.

@POTUS

President Biden

7 months

In the coming days, the United States will carry out airdrops of aid to Gaza, redouble our efforts to open a maritime corridor, and expand deliveries by land. The aid flowing into Gaza is nowhere near enough. We all need to do more. And the United States will do more.

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Sarah Elaine Harrison

1 year

In light of events in #Niger I’m re-upping my @CrisisGroup colleague’s article detailing local contexts that resulted in coups in other West African countries. What is happening in Niger deserves the same careful analysis.

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Principles or Pragmatism? How to React to West Africa’s Slew of Coups | Crisis Group

Originally published in The Georgetown Journal of International Affairs

www.crisisgroup.org

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

2 years

New report from @Reuters reveals at least 60 extrajudicial killings of children by the Nigerian military during counterterrorism operations. Estimates of other killings are in the thousands.

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Nigerian Army massacred children in war on insurgents, witnesses say

More than 40 witnesses said they saw Nigerian forces kill children or saw bodies after an attack. Reuters examined 6 cases in which a total of at least 60 died.

www.reuters.com

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Sarah Elaine Harrison

2 years

I shared my thoughts with @nickturse for this new @RollingStone article about coups in Africa and the concerning pattern of putschists trained by the U.S.:

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How Many More Governments Will American-Trained Soldiers Overthrow?

Last fall a U.S. trained military officer staged a coup on in Burkina Faso — it was the seventh such military seizure of power on the continent.

www.rollingstone.com

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

1 year

Department of State says “Attempted takeover in Niger” and “concerning developments” but still won’t use plain language to describe what’s happened: a coup.

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

7 months

The U.S. is under no obligation to give Israel weapons to defend itself, and even if it were, what Israel has done in Gaza is arguably well beyond the parameters of legitimate self-defense

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Sarah Elaine Harrison

8 months

When I was a lawyer at the Pentagon advising on the Leahy law, this is what I would have called "credible information" of "a gross violation of human rights." Meaning, IDF forces who did this can no longer receive U.S. assistance under the law.

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Stripped, Beaten or Vanished: Israel’s Treatment of Gaza Detainees Raises Alarm

A U.N. office said Israel’s detention and treatment of detainees might amount to torture. It estimated thousands had been detained and held in “horrific” conditions. Some were freed wearing only...

www.nytimes.com

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Sarah Elaine Harrison

8 months

My thoughts on NSM-20 in @lawfare : Palestinians don't have time to wait on more government processes and @POTUS must do better than issue policies that distract from the essential question: What is the US going to do to bring this brutal war to an end?

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Biden’s New Policy on Security Assistance, NSM-20, Will Not Save Gaza

While a step forward in some ways such as congressional reporting requirements, the policy memorandum’s loopholes and limitations will only create additional processes and maintain the status quo.

www.lawfaremedia.org

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Sarah Elaine Harrison

3 years

If confirmed as an attempted coup, this will be the *5th* West African nation eroding a fundamental democratic norm. It will also be the *5th* to have received U.S. security assistance (granted, not purchased), specifically International Military Education and Training (IMET).

@BBCAfrica

BBC News Africa

3 years

Gunfire has been heard at Guinea-Bissau's presidential palace. Unconfirmed reports say soldiers have surrounded the building. President Umaro Sissoco Embaló is understood to be inside.

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@Seharrison7

Sarah Elaine Harrison

2 years

The State Department is required by law to have agreements in place with countries that receive U.S. assistance before recipient units are ID'd (e.g., Israel, Egypt, and Ukraine) to ensure those countries will restrict assistance to prohibited units. EX:

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