Israel is anticipating that the United States will announce on Monday its decision to block military aid to an Israeli army unit due to human rights abuses in the West Bank before the war in Gaza. This move would be the first time that the U.S. has utilized the Leahy law against an Israeli military unit, marking a significant shift in the relationship between the two countries. The strained U.S.-Israeli relationship is a result of civilian casualties and suffering in Israel’s conflict with Hamas in Gaza. Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have condemned the expected sanctions and vowed to fight against them.
The Leahy Law, named after former Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy, was established in the 1990s to prevent American military aid and training from being provided to foreign security units that have committed extrajudicial killings, torture, and other grave human rights violations. The law requires a cutoff of aid to a military unit if there is credible evidence of gross abuses. Additionally, a second Leahy law applies the same standard to Defense Department training of foreign militaries. U.S. administrations, including President Joe Biden’s, have been criticized for failing to conduct thorough investigations into allegations of abuses by Israeli security forces in order to avoid triggering the Leahy law.
While the Leahy law is regularly invoked for U.S. security assistance to countries in regions such as Central and South America and Africa, it is rarely utilized for key U.S. allies. In 2022, the U.S. found evidence to trigger the Leahy law for police and other forces in various countries, but it has not historically been used against strategically important allies like Israel. Israel maintains that it investigates abuses by security forces and holds offenders accountable through the legal system. Despite this, the potential cutoff of aid to an Israeli military unit highlights the significance of the Leahy law in conditioning military support on lawful behavior by foreign forces.
Israel has ratified a treaty stating that it will not share U.S. military aid with any unit deemed to be credibly guilty of gross human rights abuses. The U.S. Secretary of State has the authority to waive the Leahy law if they determine that the government in question is taking effective measures to hold offenders accountable within the targeted unit. Israel continues to receive billions of dollars in funding and arms from the U.S., including a new $26 billion package to support defense and provide humanitarian relief in Gaza. Despite the potential sanctions against an Israeli military unit, the U.S. Congress is expected to pass the aid package, and President Biden has indicated that he will sign it into law.
