U.S. Military Aid to Israel Contested by Palestinians and American Relatives
A coalition of Palestinians and Palestinian-Americans, represented by the human rights advocacy organisation Dawn, have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of State, alleging that it has violated federal law by continuing to provide Israel with military aid despite potential human rights abuses.
The lawsuit, which marks a historic effort to right the wrong of the State Department’s refusal to obey the law, claims that the Leahy laws prohibit the United States from providing military assistance to foreign nations and security forces known to violate human rights.
Sarah Leah Whitson, the executive director of Dawn, stated, "This lawsuit is a significant step towards ensuring accountability and upholding the rule of law. The State Department's refusal to obey the law requiring it to restrict military aid to abusive military units in Israel is unacceptable."
Plaintiff Said Assali, a Palestinian-American, claims to have lost six family members to Israeli airstrikes. Assali is participating in the lawsuit to curb what he believes are violations of federal law.
The lawsuit mentions that every decision made by the Secretary of State on Israel and the Leahy law has resulted in Israeli security forces being eligible for U.S. military aid. Proponents of the lawsuit include former State Department officials and several of the legislators involved in the 1997 passage of the Leahy laws.
Israel has deflected allegations of widespread and unnecessary killings by saying that it makes every possible effort to limit harm to Palestinian civilians. However, the lawsuit claims that the State Department did not intervene to block arms transfers, despite threatening to do so in the past.
Charles Blaha, a former State Department official who helped review compliance with the Leahy law, said that proper enforcement could have prevented thousands of civilian deaths in Gaza. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has denied that his agency has carved out any exceptions for Israel, saying that there is no "double standard" when it comes to America’s closest ally in the Middle-East.
However, the lawsuit states that the State Department is using U.S. tax dollars to actively and aggressively violate federal law. The U.S. government last authorized military aid to Israel for deliveries spanning from October 7, 2023, to May 13, 2025, totaling weapons and military equipment worth 485.1 million euros. There is no specific information indicating that the Israeli security police were subject to restrictions or evaluations under the Leahy Law in this context.
In May, the State Department released a report indicating that there is or was "reasonable" evidence suggesting that Israel has used American weapons to violate international law. Whitson asserts that the State Department’s own human rights reports and numerous human rights reports and journalistic investigations contradict the Department’s claim that no Israeli unit has ever committed a gross violation of human rights.
Dawn, the organisation representing the plaintiffs, was founded by Jamal Khashoggi, the late Washington Post journalist. The lawsuit seeks to hold the State Department accountable for its actions and ensure that U.S. military aid is only provided to nations and security forces that respect human rights.
