(DailyChive.com) – The US State Department accused Israel’s military and police forces of committing gross violations of human rights.
Vedant Patel, the principal deputy spokesman of the State Department, stated that five units of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the police force have been involved in human rights violations, adding that it happened before the October 7 tragic events and outside Gaza.
However, Patel dismissed any possibility of sanctions against these units.
According to Patel, four units of the Israel’s forces have already remedied their actions, and the US government is in contact with the Israeli government over the actions of the last unit, about which the Israeli authorities have already submitted additional information.
The United States will eventually review all the documentation about the remaining unit and continue the ongoing consultation process with the Israeli government before reaching any conclusion, Patel added.
Journalists pressed Patel if Israel’s military funding would also be scrutinized under “Leahy Laws,” according to which the US government would cut off financial assistance to entities involved in gross human rights violations. However, Patel confirmed that the US government will not stop providing financial assistance to the fifth unit.
Patel explained that the Leahy Laws impose certain restrictions on military units found in human rights abuses, but these restrictions do not influence America’s wider strategic relationships with countries like Israel.
The so-called Leahy laws are named after former Senator Patrick Leahy, who introduced laws against America’s financial assistance to regimes involved in human rights abuses like killings, tortures, and rapes. According to these laws, the State Department needs to find enough evidence against a country before stopping its military assistance.
Many human rights groups have accused different US administrations of not investigating Israel’s war crimes seriously just to stop invoking these laws.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under global outrage for his actions in Gaza, and the International Criminal Court is likely to issue his arrest warrants, which will enable 124 countries to arrest him.
Copyright 2024, DailyChive.com
