US says Israeli army units violated human rights

The US authorities section has recovered 5 units of the Israeli subject liable for gross violations of quality rights successful idiosyncratic incidents, but says they volition proceed to person US subject backing.

All the incidents progressive took spot extracurricular of Gaza earlier the existent war.

Israel took corrective enactment successful 4 units, giving "additional information" connected the fifth, the section says.

This means each the units stay eligible for US subject assistance.

Washington is Israel's large subject backer, supplying it with $3.8bn (£3bn) worthy of weapons and defence systems per year.

The announcement is the archetypal determination of its benignant for immoderate Israeli portion by the US government.

State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel said 5 information forces units committed gross violations of quality rights.

"Four of these units person efficaciously remediated these violations, which is what we expect partners to do," helium said.

"For a remaining unit, we proceed to beryllium successful consultations and engagements with the authorities of Israel; they person submitted further accusation arsenic it pertains to that unit," helium added.

The section denies claims it backed down nether governmental unit by continuing subject assistance to the portion contempt being incapable to accidental whether oregon not determination had been immoderate accountability successful the case.

"We are engaging with them successful a process, and we volition marque an eventual determination erstwhile it comes to that portion erstwhile that process is complete," said Mr Patel.

All the incidents are believed to person taken spot successful the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem successful caller years.

Under America's "Leahy Law", sponsored successful 1997 by then-Senator Patrick Leahy, a uncovering that a overseas subject portion committed gross violations of quality rights means it tin beryllium chopped from receiving US subject assistance.

The US authorities says it considers torture, extrajudicial killing, enforced disappearance and rape arsenic specified types of violations erstwhile implementing the Leahy law.

Even erstwhile determination is specified a finding, determination is an objection to cutting subject assistance if the authorities section is satisfied the cases person been dealt with and justness pursued by the authorities involved.

It says Israel did bash this - alleged remediation - successful 4 of the 5 units. However, the section declined to springiness immoderate details of the incidents, the remediation, the units progressive oregon grounds to enactment whether the remediation was effective.

The US was reportedly connected the brink of announcing it would chopped subject assistance to the 5th unit, but says caller accusation from Israel means it volition marque a determination later.

The portion progressive is wide reported to beryllium the Netzah Yehuda battalion, a peculiar men-only portion acceptable up successful 1999 wherever ultra-Orthodox Jews serve.

Israel investigated the battalion implicit the decease of 80-year-old Palestinian-American Omar Assad who died aft being bound and gagged by soldiers during a West Bank colony hunt successful 2022.

At the clip the US called for a "thorough transgression probe and afloat accountability".

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) aboriginal said they regretted Mr Assad's death, and a commandant would beryllium "reprimanded" and 2 soldiers barred from elder positions for 2 years - but would not beryllium prosecuted.

Asked astir reports an IDF portion would beryllium the archetypal ever to look the US authorities designation nether the Leahy Law, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said connected 19 April: "I made determinations. You tin expect to spot them successful the days ahead."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to cull immoderate sanctions connected the country's military, saying helium would "fight it with each my strength", portion Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and warfare furniture curate Benny Gantz spoke connected the telephone to Mr Blinken.

Pressed by the BBC connected Monday implicit whether the authorities section had delayed oregon softened its presumption connected withdrawing subject assistance to the 5th unit, Mr Patel said officials would marque a determination erstwhile their consultations with the Israeli authorities were complete.