Palestinians challenge US military assistance to Israel in federal court

Five Palestinians sue US State Dept to stop military aid to Israel over its alleged involvement in human rights abuses

In a groundbreaking legal challenge, five Palestinians from Gaza, the occupied West Bank, and the United States are suing the US government, seeking to halt American military assistance to Israel due to its involvement in alleged serious human rights abuses.

The lawsuit, filed on Tuesday, accuses the US Department of State of failing to enforce a federal law that prohibits the transfer of funds to foreign military units implicated in gross violations of human rights, Al-Jazeera reported.

The case revolves around the Leahy Law, a regulation that bars the US from providing military assistance to foreign units that are credibly accused of engaging in actions such as torture, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and rape.

The plaintiffs argue that the State Department has ignored its obligations under this law, especially amid the ongoing escalation of violence since the Gaza War erupted on October 7, 2023.

The lawsuit underscores the alarming rise in Israeli military actions, which have resulted in the deaths of over 45,000 Palestinians in Gaza alone, according to UN estimates as the human rights organisations have also accused the Israeli military of committing war crimes, including genocide.

The lead plaintiff in the case, identified as Amal Gaza, is a teacher from Gaza who has been displaced seven times since the war began. In addition, 20 of her family members have been killed in Israeli airstrikes.

"My suffering and the unimaginable loss my family has endured would be significantly lessened if the US stopped providing military assistance to Israeli units committing gross violations of human rights," Gaza stated in the lawsuit.

The Leahy Law, passed in 1997, prohibits US military aid to foreign security forces implicated in serious human rights violations. The law aims to ensure that US taxpayer dollars are not used to fund abuses abroad.

Human rights groups, alongside the plaintiffs, argue that the US government has failed to implement this law in relation to Israel, despite multiple reports of abuses in Gaza and the West Bank.

Raed Jarrar, advocacy director at DAWN (Democracy for the Arab World Now), a US-based non-profit supporting the plaintiffs, emphasised that the case is about holding the US government accountable to its own laws. "We’re asking the government to obey the law," said Jarrar.

For months, human rights advocates have urged President Joe Biden’s administration to impose restrictions on military assistance to Israel amid ongoing reports of human rights violations, particularly in Gaza.

Israeli forces have been accused of using US-made weapons in several attacks in Gaza, some of which targeted civilian areas and led to significant casualties. Reports have documented indiscriminate bombings, including strikes that killed dozens of Palestinian civilians.

Furthermore, the violence in the West Bank has intensified since the outbreak of the Gaza war, with the UN’s humanitarian office reporting 770 Palestinian deaths in the region between October 7 and the end of November 2023.

The US government provides Israel with at least $3.8 billion annually in military aid, and additional funding has been allocated since the escalation of the Gaza conflict.

Researchers at Brown University recently estimated that the Biden administration has provided an additional $17.9 billion since the start of the war. These funds have been crucial in supporting Israel’s military operations, yet critics argue that continued assistance is complicit in the ongoing human rights abuses.

According to Jarrar, the violations committed by Israeli forces are so widespread and severe that applying the Leahy Law would render most Israeli military units ineligible for US assistance. "If the US were to stop sending weapons, there is no way for Israel to continue its military operations," Jarrar added.

This legal challenge brings attention to the broader debate over US foreign policy and its role in the Israel-Palestine conflict, with many questioning whether American military aid should be conditional on adherence to international human rights standards.

As the lawsuit progresses, it remains to be seen how the courts will interpret the Leahy Law’s application to Israel and whether the US government will take steps to address the growing calls for accountability regarding its military support for Israel.