![Masked Israeli soldier gets out of vehicle, shouts at journalists, prevents them from working, following an Israeli military raid on the Palestinian town of Qabatiya, near the city of Jenin, in the northern West Bank. [Nasser Ishtayeh/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/GettyImages-2172338986.jpg?fit=1200%2C794&ssl=1)
The US State Department is reportedly investigating an Israeli military unit accused of abusing Palestinian detainees, a move that could lead to the unit losing access to American assistance.
According to an Axios report, this investigation may trigger penalties under the Leahy Law, which prohibits the US from aiding foreign security units implicated in credible human rights violations.
Nine members of Israel’s Force 100 are already under criminal investigation in Israel for sexually assaulting a detainee at the notorious Sde Teiman detention centre in southern Israel, which has been described by human rights groups as “the Israeli Guantanamo”.
Several reports emerged of severe abuses against Palestinian detainees at the notorious facility since the start of Israel’s ongoing offensive on the Gaza Strip. Currently, Israel’s Supreme Court is considering a petition filed by Israeli human rights organisations to close the Sde Teiman prison, where Palestinian detainees from Gaza face torture and medical neglect.
Whistleblowers have reported that a detainee at the Sde Teiman facility had a limb amputated due to injuries caused by prolonged handcuffing.
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Moreover, citing two Israeli officials, Axios reported that the US embassy in Jerusalem submitted a list of questions to Israel’s Foreign Ministry regarding alleged human rights violations by members of Force 100. The inquiry is part of a review under the Leahy Law, which bars US military assistance to foreign security units involved in credible human rights abuses.
A US official told Axios that this process was part of ongoing consultations with Israel. The Leahy Laws, authored by then-Senator Patrick Leahy in the late 1990s, prohibit providing military assistance to individuals or security force units that commit gross violations of human rights and have not been brought to justice.
Although US officials have taken measures to bypass the law to avoid sanctioning Israel, the investigation highlights growing concerns about the treatment of Palestinian detainees. It comes after US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, and Defence Secretary, Lloyd Austin, warned Israel that future weapons transfers could be blocked if urgent steps were not taken to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Israel has continued a brutal offensive on Gaza following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas last year, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire.
More than 42,500 people have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 99,600 injured, according to local health authorities.
The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of Gaza amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine.
Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.
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