The State Department declined to comment Wednesday on allegations that Israel and Egypt have engaged in extrajudicial killings, or if those allegations could imperil U.S. military aid to those countries.
Spokesman John Kirby also declined to comment on when State might respond to a congressional letter asking whether State believes those governments are involved in those killings. But he did insist that the U.S. would not provide funding to countries found to have perpetuated actions like the alleged killings.
“Our assistance to Egypt, and to Israel, is and will remain, in full compliance with the law,” Kirby said.
The “Leahy Law,” authored by Sen. Pat Leahy, D-Vt., ties acceptance of U.S. military assistance to the behavior of those countries’ security forces. They are not allowed to commit abuses, and U.S. funding must be shut off if abuses occur.
Kirby repeatedly insisted that it was following the law, and is in “full compliance” with the law. “We absolutely take that fundamental obligation seriously,” he said.
Israel’s police forces have been accused of executing four Palestinians — Faid Alloud, Saad Al-Atrash, Hadeel Hashlamoun, and Mutaz Ewisa — without trial, and torturing two others, Wasim Marouf and Ahmed Manasra.
Egypt has been accused of more, including the 2013 massacre in Rab’aa Square, and the extrajudicial killings of 10 men, as well as the “forced disappearances” of seven others.
Israel and Egypt receive generous military aid packages — they are the first and second largest recipients, respectively, and have been for some time, according to a 2015 CNN report. That report said 75 percent of U.S. foreign military financing goes to Israel and Egypt.
Sen. Leahy and 10 members of the House sent a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry in February asking about these allegations, and how they might affect U.S. aid packages.
“There have been a disturbing number of reports of possible gross violations of human rights by security forces in Israel — incidents that may have involved recipients, or potential recipients, of U.S. military assistance,” the Leahy letter reads.
“According to the information we have received, the manner in which U.S. military assistance has been provided to Israel and Egypt, since the Camp David accords [in the 1970’s], including the delivery of assistance at the military service level, has created an unique situation that has hindered implementation of normal mechanisms for monitoring the use of such assistance,” they added.
“We obey the law,” Kirby insisted Wednesday. “We don’t provide assistance to any security forces, anywhere, where we have credible information of a gross violation of human rights.”
Kirby said he can’t “make a judgment right now,” on whether Israel, specifically, has recently violated human rights.
“It’s not a law that Israel has to comply with, it’s a law we have to comply with,” Kirby added. “And so, we do.”
