U.S. Law Requires an Israel Arms Embargo

By John Ramming Chappell

Policy papers published by the IMEU Policy Project reflect their authors’ viewpoints.

Executive Summary

For Since October 2023, much of the debate regarding US arms sales and taxpayer-funded weapons giveaways to Israel has centered on the question of whether continuing support to Israel comports with universally applicable standards and restrictions in U.S. law. While these debates are not new, they have entered the political mainstream in recent years. In particular, legislators, advocates, and executive branch officials have pushed for the application of Section 620I of the Foreign Assistance Act (FAA) to Israel and the Leahy Law to certain units of Israeli forces. 

However, the legal restriction that would have the most far-reaching impact on the US-Israel relationship has yet to enter the spotlight. Section 502B of the FAA established the first universal restriction on arms sales and security assistance on human rights grounds. Based on the text of Section 502B, its legislative history, previous applications, and the Israeli government’s human rights record, this memo demonstrates that Section 502B requires the United States to halt all weapons deliveries to Israel. In short, Section 502B requires the United States to impose an arms embargo on Israel.

Section 1 of this report analyzes the terms of Section 502B, drawing on the statute, its plain meaning at the time of its enactment, and its legislative history. In doing so, the report relies on United Nations, congressional, and executive branch documents, mostly from the 1970s, as well as academic analyses. Section 2 discusses the Israeli government’s torture of Palestinians in detention, with a focus on reports from 1967 to the present. It relies on the reports of Israeli, Palestinian, and international NGOs as well as multilateral human rights authorities. Section 3 analyzes the implications of implementing Section 502B with respect to Israel, drawing from recent policy proposals, legal analysis, and media reporting.