The U.S. Department of State is facing a groundbreaking lawsuit filed by Palestinian and Palestinian American individuals, accusing the agency of systematically circumventing U.S. law to continue funding Israeli military units accused of widespread human rights violations in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The lawsuit, filed on Tuesday, is the first legal challenge of its kind, targeting the State Department’s failure to sanction any Israeli military unit under the Leahy Law—a 1990s-era U.S. statute that prohibits military assistance to foreign forces credibly implicated in gross human rights violations. The plaintiffs argue that U.S. tax dollars have been used to support security forces linked to torture, prolonged detention, forced disappearances, and actions that they claim amount to genocide in Gaza.
Among the plaintiffs are Amal Gaza, a pseudonym for a mathematics teacher from Gaza who has lost 20 family members in the conflict; Shawan Jabarin, a human rights activist and director of the Palestinian organization Al-Haq, who has been imprisoned in the West Bank; and Ahmed Moor, a Palestinian American whose relatives in Gaza have been displaced multiple times due to Israeli military actions. The plaintiffs, supported by human rights organization Dawn, are urging the courts to hold the U.S. government accountable for its ongoing military aid to Israeli forces.
The legal challenge comes at a time of immense suffering in Gaza, where the death toll since October is reported to be approaching 45,000. Humanitarian aid to the region remains severely restricted, and the plaintiffs assert that the U.S. government’s refusal to enforce the Leahy Law exacerbates the humanitarian crisis.
“The United States is actively violating its own laws by continuing to fund military units that are committing widespread atrocities in Gaza,” said Said Assali, a Palestinian American whose family has been directly impacted by Israeli airstrikes. “As an American, I believe this is a clear violation of our laws, and our tax dollars are being used to support it.”
The Leahy Law was enacted in the 1990s to prevent U.S. assistance to foreign military units implicated in serious human rights violations. Despite its application in other countries, including in Central America, Colombia, and Nepal, the lawsuit claims that the U.S. has applied different standards to Israel, shielding its military from the same scrutiny. Plaintiffs point to a pattern of U.S. government inaction in response to credible allegations of human rights abuses by Israeli forces, including the 2022 killing of 78-year-old Omar As’ad in the West Bank.
The complaint also references findings from international bodies, such as the International Criminal Court, which has issued arrest warrants for Israeli officials accused of crimes against humanity. However, U.S. officials have rejected these findings and continued to permit military assistance to Israeli forces.
While the State Department has declined to comment on the lawsuit, a Guardian investigation earlier this year revealed that U.S. officials had reviewed numerous incidents of alleged human rights violations by Israeli forces but had used special bureaucratic measures to protect the Israeli military from the consequences faced by other foreign units.
A coalition of 185 U.S. lawyers, including former State Department officials, voiced concerns earlier this year that Israel’s military actions likely violate U.S. humanitarian law. Despite these concerns, the Biden administration has consistently maintained its “ironclad” support for Israel, and top officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, have resisted calls to sanction Israeli military units.
Sarah Leah Whitson, Executive Director of Dawn, emphasized the historical significance of the lawsuit: “This legal action seeks to hold the U.S. government accountable for its failure to enforce a law designed to curb military aid to abusive forces. The State Department’s actions fly in the face of international human rights law and its own reports on abuses.”
The plaintiffs are calling on the court to compel the U.S. government to comply with the Leahy Law and restrict military assistance to Israeli security forces implicated in gross human rights violations. The case underscores a broader movement to address U.S. complicity in the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the growing public demand for accountability.
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