US will keep aid flowing to an Israeli unit accused of rights abuses, citing remediation efforts

WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department said Friday it has opted against what would have been its first-ever blocking of aid to an Israeli military unit over rights abuses, saying it is now satisfied with Israeli efforts to remediate the abuse.

While the U.S. has not publicly identified the Israeli unit, it is believed to be the Netzah Yehuda, which has historically been based in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

The unit and some of its members have been linked to abuses of civilians in the Palestinian territory, including the death of a 78-year-old Palestinian American man after his detention by the battalion’s forces in 2022.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken had determined in a finding made public in April that an Israeli army battalion committed grave human-rights abuses against Palestinians in the West Bank, triggering a U.S. rights law on aid to foreign security forces known as the Leahy law.

In the face of protests from Republican lawmakers over the finding, Blinken said he would allow aid to the unit to continue to give Israel time to address the wrongdoing.

While the alleged abuse occurred before Israel’s war in Gaza, news of Blinken’s decision came as criticism increased over the killings of tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians in the Israeli offensive in Gaza. Former senior State Department officials charged that the department has a history of making exceptions for Israel when it comes to Leahy law violations.

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