Palestinians sue Blinken over continued US military aid to Israel despite rights abuses

A group of five Palestinians living in the US and Gaza filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against US Secretary of State Antony Blinken over accusations that Washington is not abiding by a law that they say should restrict American military aid to Israel because it is engaged in human rights violations in its war on Gaza.

The lawsuit, which was filed with the help of the rights group Democracy for the Arab World Now, centres around the Leahy Law, which restricts the US from providing arms or military assistance to foreign militaries that violate human rights.

According to the plaintiffs, as well as several former State Department officials who've backed the lawsuit, the complaint outlines how the Biden administration created loopholes that allowed Israel to continue committing human rights violations without a suspension of aid from Washington.

One such loophole is the State Department's establishment of the "Israel Leahy Vetting Forum", which the lawsuit says is designed "to impede any prompt and effective determination that Israeli units have committed" grave violations of human rights.

Read more: Palestinians sue Blinken over continued US military aid to Israel despite rights abuses