Palestinian families sue State Department over US support for Israeli military

Palestinian families sued the US State Department on Tuesday over Washington's support for Israel's military amid its war in Gaza that has killed tens of thousands and caused a humanitarian crisis, a court filing showed.

The lawsuit filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia alleged that the State Department under Secretary of State Antony Blinken has deliberately circumvented a US human rights law to continue funding and supporting Israeli military units accused of atrocities in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

The Leahy Laws prohibit providing US military assistance to individuals or security force units that commit gross violations of human rights and have not been brought to justice. Both South Africa at the World Court and Amnesty International have accused Israel of committing genocide and war crimes. Israel has denied the charges.

Washington faces criticism from human rights groups for maintaining its support for Israel with no major policy changes.

"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 Oct.7, 2023," the lawsuit said.

Israel's war in Gaza has killed over 45,000 people, according to the local health ministry. Israel's assault has also displaced nearly Gaza's entire 2.3 million population and caused a hunger crisis.

The lawsuit was filed by five Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank and the United States. The lead plaintiff was a Gaza teacher who has been displaced seven times in the current war and lost 20 family members, the lawsuit says.

"It's really a modest set of goals here: There's a US law. We'd like the federal government to adhere to U.S. law," said Ahmed Moor, a Philadelphia-based Palestinian American who joined the lawsuit on behalf of cousins, uncles and aunts displaced and killed in the 14-month war.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has denied that the department has given Israel a pass. "Do we have a double standard? The answer is no," he said in April. The State Department declined to comment and referred reporters to the Justice Department, which had no immediate comment.

A State Department report in May concluded there was "reasonable" evidence that Israel's use of US-provided weapons in Gaza violated international law that protects civilians but bypassed a decision on limiting arms, saying the war itself made it impossible for US officials to judge for certain. It also declined last month to hold back arms transfers as it had threatened over humanitarian aid to Gaza.

The law bars US military assistance to foreign military units when there is credible evidence of gross human rights abuses.

Agencies