Part of the military aid package will go to an Israeli army unit accused of serious violations of Palestinian rights in the occupied West Bank.
The United States will send an additional $3.5 billion to Israel to spend on U.S.-made weapons and military equipment, the State Department said, as the deadly war in Gaza continues into its tenth month and amid allegations of widespread Israeli military abuses in occupied Palestinian territory.
A State Department spokesperson said Friday that the department notified Congress on Thursday that the Biden administration intended to release billions of dollars in foreign military funding to Israel.
US broadcast media first reported the release of the funds, which come from a $14.5 billion supplemental funding bill for Israel passed by Congress in April. The supplementary budget adds to the more than $3 billion a year in US military aid to Israel.
Part of the new financial aid will go to an Israeli military unit, which is accused of committing human rights violations against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. The State Department said it decided not to sanction the unit — which would have been the first blockage of aid to the Israeli military — saying it was pleased Israeli efforts to resolve “violations committed by this unit” were “effectively remedied.” .
Although the US has not publicly named the unit, it is believed to be Israel’s Netzah Yehuda battalion, which has historically been based in the occupied West Bank.
The battalion and some of its members have been linked to the abuse of Palestinian civilians, including the death of a 78-year-old Palestinian-American man following his detention by the unit in 2022.
The green light given to Netzah Yehuda comes after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken determined, in a conclusion made public in April, that an Israeli army battalion committed serious human rights abuses against Palestinians, triggering an investigation under of U.S. law relating to U.S. military aid to known foreign forces. like the Leahy Law.
Facing protests from Republican lawmakers over the findings of abuses linked to the battalion, Blinken said he would allow aid to continue to the unit in order to give Israel time to resolve the wrongdoings.
News of Blinken’s reversal comes at a time when criticism of Israel is increasing, amid the murders of tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians in the war against Gaza.
The Israeli military has been accused of numerous human rights violations against Palestinians, both in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, including the indiscriminate killing of civilians in attacks on homes, hospitals and school shelters, torture of prisoners and deprivation of water to hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians. , food and medical supplies.
More recently, 10 Israeli soldiers were accused of the brutal gang rape of a Palestinian detainee in an Israeli prison camp, which was captured on video.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
