Five Israeli military units have committed gross human rights violations, according to the US State Department on Monday. Despite these findings, all of the units currently remain eligible for US military aid. According to the US and Israel, four units have effectively remediated the violations, but discussions continue regarding the remaining Israel Defense Forces (IDF) unit. All alleged violations occurred before October 7, and none were in Gaza.
In a press conference, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s spokesperson, Vendant Patel, was questioned by reporters whether sanctions would be implemented in compliance with the Leahy law. Patel repeatedly emphasized that the government has a deliberate, rigorous process that cannot be rushed. He added that the standard of remediation is different for each country in which it applies. The press from numerous news organizations challenged whether the Israeli government was receiving “special treatment” in this case. Patel defended the State Department’s policy and said it is consistent and rooted in what the department believes is best for international stability and the safety of the American people.
The governing law in question is named after former Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy. It prohibits the US from using funds to assist foreign security forces if credible information implicates a military unit of gross human rights violations. These provisions apply to both the State Department and the Department of Defense. The US government considers torture, extrajudicial killing, enforced disappearance, and rape under color of law. Incidents are examined on a fact-specific basis. An exception exists; assistance can be resumed if the Secretary of State reports to Congress that the country’s government is taking effective steps to bring the accused security forces to justice. Blinken has yet to make such a report to Congress.
Pro Publica reported that the violations, still unresolved, included extrajudicial killings by the Israeli Border Police two years ago. In one incident, a battalion gagged, handcuffed, and abandoned an elderly Palestinian American man, who subsequently died of a heart attack. Another allegation is that interrogators tortured and raped a 15-year-old with a blunt object as punishment for throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails.
Blinken announced on April 19 that the State Department had made “determinations” about the fifth military unit that the Israeli government had not yet remediated. Israel’s response to possible sanctions was immediate; Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned, “At a time when our soldiers are fighting the monsters of terror, the intention to impose a sanction on a unit in the IDF is the height of absurdity and a moral low.” Blinken has since met with the Israeli war cabinet minister and other top officials. According to the Times of Israel, after the meeting, an undisclosed Israel official stated “that nothing — not Iran and its proxies, State Department findings, or ICC warrants — will keep Israel from achieving its war aims.”
The ongoing conflict in Gaza has raised global discourse on the nature of the conflict. The UN reports that more than 12,300 children have died in the war in the last four months. Over 85 percent of the population in Gaza have been displaced by the violence, and more than 34,000 people have been killed. Survivors face a collapsed medical system and imminent famine. The International Criminal Court is debating whether Israel is culpable of genocide in Gaza, and US university campuses have seen widespread encampments in protest of the war. Blinken emphasized that Hamas could have prevented much of the suffering by ceasing hostilities and releasing hostages.
