Jim Williams covers the war between Israel and Gaza with constant written and video posts daily. Be sure to check back for the latest updates.
Yesterday at the United States State Department’s afternoon briefing Secretary of State Anothny Blinken stepped to the podium and made a statement concerning 2023 Annual Human Rights Report. In the case of this briefing reporters were expecting that the Secretary was going to sanction Israel for a 2020 incident on the West Bank where members of IDF may have crossed the line.
When posed the question when or if Israel would be sanctioned Blinken responded by say “Stay tuned.”
Why is Israel possibly getting sanctions?
For over 20 years the Netzah Yehuda battalion, has been accused of abuse toward Palestinians, according to Israeli media reports. They first appeared on the State Department radar back in 2022, when a commander of the battalion was disciplined and the platoon commander and company commander removed from their positions following the death of Omar Assad, a 78-year-old Palestinian American.
For over 20 years the Netzah Yehuda battalion, has been accused of abuse toward Palestinians, according to Israeli media reports. They first appeared on the State Department radar back in 2022, when a commander of the battalion was disciplined and the platoon commander and company commander removed from their positions following the death of Omar Assad, a 78-year-old Palestinian American.
The former Milwaukee store owner died after being detained at a checkpoint where he was reported to have suffered a stress-induced heart attack that was likely brought on by being bound, gagged and held by Israeli forces. For their part the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in a statement at not long after the incident in 2020 took full responsibility says his death was the result of “moral failure and poor decision-making” by the soldiers who had detained him.
Israel also disciplined the officers and troops who were involved with the death of Assad, which might be enough to keep Secretary Blinken from putting sanctions on the IDF. Multiple members of the present Israeli government have let Blinken know they are displeased with the potential sanctions.
Here two things that need to be reported on because in the end they might be the most important pieces of the puzzle to date.
Let’s begin with the fact that per the Leahy Law the Secretary of State has full discretion in sanctioning a country. So, if Blinken feels that in this case Israel has investigated the matter fullest extent then he can forego any sanctions he might have applied to those in question.
READ THE LAW AND HOW WORKS AS PER THE STATE DEPARTMENT:
1. What is the Leahy law?
- The term “Leahy law” refers to two statutory provisions prohibiting the U.S. Government from using funds for assistance to units of foreign security forces where there is credible information implicating that unit in the commission of gross violations of human rights (GVHR). One statutory provision applies to the State Department and the other applies to the Department of Defense. The State Department Leahy law was made permanent under section 620M of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, 22 U.S.C. 2378d. The U.S. government considers torture, extrajudicial killing, enforced disappearance, and rape under color of law as GVHRs when implementing the Leahy law. Incidents are examined on a fact-specific basis. The State Department Leahy law includes an exception permitting resumption of assistance to a unit if the Secretary of State determines and reports to Congress that the government of the country is taking effective steps to bring the responsible members of the security forces unit to justice.
- The DoD Leahy law is similar to the State Leahy law. Since 1999, Congress included the DoD Leahy law in its annual appropriations act. The DoD Leahy law is now permanent in Section 362 of Title 10 of the U.S. Code. It requires that DoD-appropriated funds may not be used for any training, equipment, or other assistance for a foreign security force unit if the Secretary of Defense has credible information that such unit has committed a GVHR. The law allows for two exceptions to this restriction. The first in cases where the Secretary of Defense (after consultation with the Secretary of State) determines that the government of that country has taken all necessary corrective steps. This first exception is also known as “remediation.” A second exception exists if U.S. equipment or other assistance is necessary to assist in disaster relief operations or other humanitarian or national security emergencies.
2. How is the law implemented?
- In cases where an entire unit is designated to receive assistance, the Department of State vets the unit and the unit’s commander. When an individual security force member is nominated for U.S. assistance, the Department vets that individual as well as his or her unit. Vetting begins in the unit’s home country, where the U.S. embassy conducts consular, political, and other security and human rights checks. Most often, an additional review is conducted by analysts at the Department of State in Washington, D.C. The State Department evaluates and assesses available information about the human rights records of the unit and the individual, reviewing a full spectrum of open source and classified records.
- When assessing whether information is credible, the following factors should be considered weighing both the credibility of a source and the veracity of an allegation:
- Past accuracy and reliability of the reporting source as well as original source, if known;
- How the source obtained the information (e.g., personal knowledge obtained by a witness, witness interviews collected by a non-governmental organization (NGO), descriptions collected from government records, etc.);
- Known political agenda of a source (both reporting source and/or original source, if known) which might lead to bias in reporting;
- Corroborative information to confirm part or all of the allegation;
- Information that contradicts part or all of the allegation;
- History of unit and known patterns of abuse/professional behavior;
- Level of detail of the GVHR allegation, including detail in identification of the GVHR, perpetrator (or link to an operational unit), and victim.
3. Can assistance be reinstated to units previously found ineligible for assistance?
- Yes. Consistent with the exception under both Leahy laws, the Departments of State and Defense have adopted a joint policy on remediation that outlines a process for resuming DoD- and State-funded assistance to foreign security force units that are ineligible for assistance under the Leahy laws. This can occur when the Secretaries of Defense and State determine that the government of that country has taken, or is taking, effective measures to bring those responsible to justice. Such measures may include impartial and thorough investigations; credible judicial or administrative adjudications; and appropriate and proportional sentencing.
One final bit of very important information in 2022, the U.S. found sufficient evidence of abuses to trigger the Leahy law for police and other forces in Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico and the Caribbean nation of Saint Lucia. So, Israel was not singled out in this case as some have reported.
