A group of Palestinian families filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against the State Department over the federal government’s support of Israel in its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The lawsuit, which was filed by nonprofit group Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, accuses the federal government of violating the 1997 Leahy Law, which prohibits the sending of military aid to countries that have committed human rights abuses.
“The State Department’s calculated failure to apply the Leahy Law is particularly shocking in the face of the unprecedented escalation of Israeli gross violations of human rights since the Gaza War erupted on October 7, 2023,” the lawsuit reads.
Ahmed Moor, one of the plaintiffs, released a statement claiming that the U.S. government’s military aid to Israel “is enabling these Israeli harms to me and my family.”
The Israeli Leahy Vetting Forum (ILVF), a specialized working group created by the State Department tasked with determining whether specific Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) units are qualified to receive aid, “imposes uniquely onerous, prolonged, and senior-level processes that are not applied to other countries and are designed to create a de facto exemption of Israel from the Leahy Law,” the plaintiffs argue.
Since the enactment of the law in 1997, the Department of State has found tens of thousands of foreign security force units of countries other than Israel ineligible for assistance… To date, however, the State Department has not suspended or found ineligible a single Israeli unit despite overwhelming information of widespread GVHRs (Gross Violations of Human Rights) committed by Israel.
The plaintiffs claim that their predicament is caused by the United States sending military aid to Israeli military units. It notes that one of the plaintiffs “fears imminent death, injury, repeated displacement, and property loss at the hands of abusive Israeli security forces units.”
The lawsuit goes on to argue that cutting military aid to Israeli military units would decrease their ability to commit “gross violations of human rights.”
The IDF is accused of “significant human rights issues,” including “arbitrary or unlawful killings,” “extrajudicial killings,” “enforced disappearances,” and “torture,” according to the complaint. The lawsuit claims the IDF has “systematically targeted and extrajudicially killed hundreds of journalists, doctors, medical health professionals, and humanitarian workers.”
Applying the Leahy Law requires “credible information” to slash aid. It also mandates that military units to which it is applied be given an opportunity for remediation. Indeed, the complaint acknowledges that the State Department concluded that most units had remediated violations by changing policy and taking other steps.
The U.S. cannot simply cut off aid based on the claims of entities that are already biased against the Jewish State. Several organizations have cast doubt on the number of Palestinian civilians who lost their lives during the fighting, especially since they are being reported by Hamas, a terrorist organization. It flies in the face of those claiming Israel is carrying out a “genocide” in Gaza.
It is also worth mentioning that the current conflict began after Hamas launched a surprise attack against Israel on October 7, 2023, murdering over 1,000 civilians and soldiers. The terrorist group also took hundreds of hostages, many of whom are still being held in Gaza. Its operatives have even killed some of those they kidnapped.
Would the plaintiffs suggest this is a reason against the U.S. providing aid for the Palestinians in Gaza? It has already been established that much of the aid intended for civilians has actually gone to Hamas as it continues its fight against Israeli forces.
Hamas terrorists were captured on video taking control of 47 of 100 aid trucks entering the Gaza Strip on Tuesday.
“It’s no secret that Hamas takes control of humanitarian aid. We’ve already published here tapes of Hamas, in which you hear them say themselves they have no more room in their warehouses,” Channel 12‘s Almog Boker reported on Wednesday evening.
“But this evening we also bring special documentation of what it looks like from inside, with cameras that are tracking it in real time,” he said.
The lawsuit will likely go nowhere, as it should. Unfortunately, Hamas’ actions will ensure that this conflict will continue, which means civilians will continue to suffer.