The Bottom Line

How the US State Department shields Israel from sanctions

Inside the labyrinth of the State Department’s mechanisms that allow the flow of weapons to Israel, despite violations.

Over the years, the United States government has been creating special mechanisms to shield Israel from sanctions designed to punish countries for human rights abuses.

President Joe Biden has paused a weapons shipment to Israel and acknowledged that US weapons have been used by Israel to kill Palestinian civilians, but the US Department of State refused to declare if Israel had broken US or international laws in its war on Gaza.

Host Steve Clemons asks Guardian US investigative reporter Stephanie Kirchgaessner and Georgetown University human rights law expert Stephen Rickard about the structures in place that ultimately allow Israel to evade accountability.