(LibertySociety.com) – The State Department recently revealed that it had found multiple Israel Defense Forces units had committed “individual incidents of gross violations of human rights” before the October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attack against Israel.
During a press conference, a spokesman from the department said that the incidents did not occur in Gaza and that four of the five accused units had been “effectively remediated.” The State Department was still consulting with the Israeli government over the fifth unit. The United States has laws that require funding to be cut for foreign security forces if they were found to have committed human rights violations. However, no cuts have been made to the five units thus far.
The spokesman said that the State Department would make a final determination about the fifth unit once the consultations with the Israeli government were complete. He made clear that the United States follows the same standards regarding remediation for every country. He told reporters that the fifth unit was still allowed to receive weapons from the United States for now. The first law requires a halt in funding to military units that have committed human rights violations. The second one halts funding for foreign military training through the Department of Defense. Both are referred to as the “Leahy Laws,” named after retired Vermont Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy.
The Biden administration, along with several previous administrations, has been accused of intentionally dodging investigations involving human rights violations against Palestinians by the IDF. This avoidance prevents the invocation of the laws that would stop the United States aid to Israel. However, Israel has repeatedly said that it investigates and punishes offenders who commit such abuses.
The news of the abuses comes at a time when the Israeli government is already on edge, as it suspects the International Criminal Court (ICC) to file arrest warrants against multiple Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
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