Rabia Iclal Turan
09 August 2024•Update: 10 August 2024
WASHINGTON
The US State Department determined on Friday that alleged human rights abuses by a unit of the Israeli army had been "effectively remediated," allowing the unit to continue receiving military assistance from Washington.
"As we made public in April, the Department of State found after a careful review that incidents of gross violations of human rights by two units of the Israeli Defense Forces and two civilian authority units had been effectively remediated," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in an emailed statement. The violations in question were committed in 2021 and unrelated to Israel's ongoing attacks on the Gaza Strip.
Miller said the agency had since then continued to review an additional unit, based on new information provided by Israel, and determined that "violations by this unit have also been effectively remediated."
"Consistent with the Leahy process, this unit can continue receiving security assistance from the United States of America," he said.
The Leahy Law, named after former Senator Patrick Leahy, requires the US to withhold military assistance from foreign military or law enforcement units if there is credible evidence of human rights violations.
A US official familiar with the issue, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told Anadolu that information from Israel indicated that the "two soldiers for whom military prosecutors concluded further action was necessary were swiftly removed from combat positions, have since left the military, and are ineligible to serve in the reserves."
The official also mentioned that the Israeli army took "several steps to avoid a recurrence of incidents," such as enhancing screening requirements for personnel recruited into that battalion and put in place new control mechanisms during the soldiers' training.
"Soldiers now receive a two-week educational seminar unique to the battalion, and conduct is documented," the official explained.
In April, several US media outlets reported that Washington was considering sanctions on the Netzah Yehuda battalion over human rights violations against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his support for the battalion and vowed to fight against any sanctions imposed on Israeli military units. War Cabinet minister Benny Gantz also opposed potential US sanctions, stating it would set a "dangerous precedent" and send the wrong message during wartime.
In October 2021, four soldiers from the ultra-Orthodox Israeli army battalion were arrested for allegedly beating and sexually assaulting a Palestinian suspect, while a soldier was indicted in 2015 for electrocuting detainees.
