All units remain eligible for US military aid, Washington says, after identifying abuses committed before the Gaza war.
The United States has blamed five Israeli security forces units for serious human rights violations.
The State Department announced the results on Monday, noting that this was the case It is the first time that Washington has come to such a conclusion about the Israeli armed forces. However, it added that none of the units were barred from receiving US military aid.
Human rights groups have reported abuses by Israeli forces, including extrajudicial killings, torture and other physical abuse, largely against Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
The incidents in question did not occur in Gaza and occurred before the war between Israel and Hamas broke out in October, State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said.
However, he added that the “remediation” in four of the units had now brought Israel into compliance with U.S. law that bans military aid to security units that commit abuses and have not been brought to justice.
“Four of these units have effectively addressed these violations, and we expect our partners to do the same,” Patel said.
He declined to go into detail about the violations identified by U.S. officials, which units were involved or what corrective measures were taken.
In the case of the fifth unit, Washington has not yet determined whether the cleanup is sufficient and is still in discussions with Israel, he added.
The fifth unit is probably the Netzah Yehuda Battalion.
The battalion was formed in 1999 to accommodate the religious beliefs of ultra-Orthodox Jews and other religious-nationalist army recruits. It was stationed in the West Bank until it was relocated in late 2022 following the death of 78-year-old Palestinian-American Omar Assad. His detention sparked criticism in the United States.
All units remain eligible for US support, Patel said.
Control building
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken suggested this month that Washington does not plan to use the Leahy Laws to exclude Israeli entities from receiving US aid, despite pressure from activists and media.
The U.S. government’s support for Israel, which includes billions of dollars in military aid, has become an intense focus of election year politics.
Israel’s conduct in the war in Gaza, which has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians and displaced most of the population, is under increasing scrutiny.
Now reports suggest that the International Criminal Court may be considering the issue of an arrest warrant for Israeli officials.