The lawsuit was submitted in the US District Court for the District of Columbia. It alleges that the US is violating the 1997 Leahy Law, which prohibits military aid to foreign governments involved in human rights abuses.
The plaintiffs argue that the US State Department’s failure to enforce this law is particularly troubling given the reported escalation of human rights violations by Israeli forces since the onset of the Gaza War on October 7, 2023. The lawsuit claims that these actions, carried out with US-supplied military equipment, have led to significant harm in Palestinian communities.
Assisted by the Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) organization, which has known links to the Muslim Brotherhood, the lawsuit includes testimony from one plaintiff, who said, “My surviving family members in Gaza have been forcibly displaced four times since October, living in constant fear of indiscriminate Israeli attacks carried out with American weapons."
Despite Israel's claims that it has been making efforts to avoid civilian casualties during its military campaign, which began after the Hamas massacre in southern Israel, international bodies, governments, and non-governmental organizations have consistently raised accusations of human rights abuses and even genocide.
In response, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller stated on Tuesday that he was not aware of the lawsuit but deferred to the Department of Justice for further comment, as it is typically responsible for responding to legal matters in court.
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