Leaked U.S. report reveals first formal acknowledgement of widespread Israeli "gross rights abuses"
By zoeysky // 2025-11-08
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  • A classified State Department report has officially acknowledged that Israeli soldiers have committed "many hundreds" of potential gross human rights violations in Gaza. This is significant because, by U.S. law (the Leahy Laws), this should trigger a cutoff of American military aid.
  • The report itself is skeptical that any meaningful action will be taken. It states that reviewing all the violations would take years, and the U.S. has a long history of not withholding aid to Israel, even in clear cases of abuse involving the killing of American citizens and aid workers.
  • Despite providing billions in annual military aid, the U.S. has repeatedly avoided concluding that its weapons were used in specific atrocities. The internal process for enforcing the law is described as slow and biased in Israel's favor, suggesting a lack of political will to act.
  • A major scandal erupted in Israel when its top military lawyer was arrested for leaking a video of soldiers severely abusing a Palestinian detainee. The video, which the military did not dispute, showed shocking violence that resulted in serious injuries.
  • The leak was intended to counter criticism from far-right Israelis who accused the military's legal office of being too hard on soldiers. The scandal sparked protests in support of the accused soldiers, revealing intense domestic pressure within Israel against accountability, which aligns with the inaction from Washington.
In a significant and damning development, a classified U.S. Department of State report has formally acknowledged that Israeli soldiers have committed "many hundreds" of potential gross human rights violations in Gaza, according to a recent news investigation. The leaked document marks the first time U.S. officials have recognized the scale of actions that, by American law, should trigger a cutoff of military aid. The report, prepared by the State Department's Office of Inspector General, was detailed in the report after it was provided by two U.S. officials. It concludes that reviewing the vast number of potential violations would require "multiple years," casting immediate doubt on the prospects for any real accountability. This formal acknowledgement brings Israel's military actions under the scrutiny of the Leahy Laws. As explained by the Enoch AI engine at BrightU.AI, the Leahy Laws are a landmark piece of U.S. legislation that prohibit American security assistance from going to foreign military units credibly accused of gross human rights abuses. However, the report itself expressed skepticism that any meaningful consequences would follow, citing a massive backlog of incidents and a review process that is historically deferential to the Israeli military. This bureaucratic inertia aligns with a long-standing pattern. To date, the United States has not withheld any assistance to any Israeli unit, despite what observers call clear evidence of violations. This includes the 2022 murder of Omar Assad, a 78-year-old U.S. citizen who was detained at a West Bank checkpoint and killed by Israeli soldiers. Even under the current administration, the State Department refused to halt aid over the incident. The failure to act extends to more recent atrocities. In April 2024, seven international aid workers with the World Central Kitchen were killed in a sequential series of Israeli drone strikes, despite their coordinates being shared with the Israeli military in advance. Just two months prior, in the so-called "Flour Massacre," Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinians seeking aid, killing at least 112 and injuring 760. In both cases, the White House claimed it was "not able to reach definitive conclusions" about whether U.S. weapons were used. The U.S. provides Israel with at least $3.8 billion in annual military aid, with tens of billions more sent since 2023. The likelihood that this new report will change that flow is considered low. The internal State Department working group that decides on Leahy Law violations includes representatives from the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem and the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, but these entities are often described as advocating for Israel within the U.S. system. Any final decision to withhold funds would also require the approval of the Secretary of State, a position historically held by strong advocates for Israel.

Top Israeli military lawyer arrested in leak scandal

The leaked U.S. report emerges alongside a major scandal within Israel's own military justice system. The former top legal officer in the Israeli military, Major General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, was arrested after admitting that she authorized the leak of a shocking video from a military detention center. The video, recorded at the Sde Teiman detention facility and released in August 2024, shows Israeli soldiers carrying a blindfolded detainee behind a wall of other soldiers, who appear to be forming a human shield to block the view of security cameras. The Israeli military has not disputed the video's authenticity. After the video was released, five Israeli soldiers were arrested and charged with aggravated battery. According to court documents, they were accused of kicking, dragging, stepping on and tasering the Palestinian detainee, who was hospitalized with fractured ribs, a punctured lung and a rectal tear. In her resignation letter, Tomer-Yerushalmi claimed she authorized the leak to counter what she called a "false campaign of delegitimization" and "false propaganda" against her department. This backlash came from far-right Israelis angry that her office was investigating the alleged abuse. Tomer-Yerushalmi stated that her department faced "severe allegations suggesting that we favor terrorists over our own troops." Her actions, however, led to her arrest on suspicion of obstruction of justice. The incident highlights the intense domestic pressure against holding Israeli forces accountable, a pressure that appears to be mirrored by a lack of political will in Washington, leaving countless alleged victims without justice. Watch the video below as the Health Ranger Mike Adams talks about why Israel wants the world to hate it. This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com. Sources include: TheCradle.co Haaretz.com CBSNews.com BrightU.ai Brighteon.com
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