Any decision to bar an IDF unit from US military assistance would be made under the "Leahy Law", sponsored in 1997 by then-Senator Patrick Leahy. It prevents US funding or training being used for foreign military units credibly implicated in gross human rights violations.
Over the years, the Leahy law has been applied to many countries, and secretaries of state and defense of both political parties have affirmed its importance as a practical and effective tool to shield the United States from involvement in horrific crimes and to build forces that respect human rights and the laws of armed conflict. But while the Leahy law applies the same requirements to every country, it has not always been equally enforced. Israel, among the largest recipients of U.S. military aid, is a glaring example.
Beginning in the early 2000s, I wrote to successive secretaries of state about the failure to apply the Leahy law to Israel. The responses were either inconclusive or inaccurately claimed the law was being applied to Israel the same as to other countries, which the State Department continues to insist today.
Since the Leahy law was passed, not a single Israeli security force unit has been deemed ineligible for U.S. aid, despite repeated,
credible reports of gross violations of human rights and a pattern of failing to appropriately punish Israeli soldiers and police who violate the rights of Palestinians.
Recently, Secretary of State Antony Blinken determined that
four Israeli security force units had committed gross violations of human rights of Palestinians in the West Bank, months or years ago, but that Israel had taken effective steps to bring those responsible to justice, so the Leahy law was not applied.
