The United States State Department made a huge turnaround against Israel this week.
The State Department has condemned five IDF units for alleged "gross human rights" violations.
Talking Points…
- Israel-Hamas war
- State Department condemnation
- Analysis
On October 7, 2023, Hamas attacked Israel, killing innocents, raping women, and capturing and torturing hundreds. Yet, the real outrage seemed to take place after the Israeli counterattack. All of a sudden, Democrats were on their high horse that Israel needed to call for a cease-fire and stop the war due to the "genocide" of the Palestinian people.
Mind you, nobody was calling out Hamas leadership, and nobody was calling out Palestinian leadership for handing the terrorist organization the Gaza Strip to rule. Nor were they calling out Palestine for refusing to help Israel fight Hamas. This, as most of you know, has led to nationwide protests, specifically on college campuses, against Israel. In some of these cases, these students are now openly stating they are pro-Hamas, which was the topic of debate between Fox News' Jesse Watters and former congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard…
We have also seen members of Congress support these "protests" and, in some cases, actually join them. In fact, after Rep. Ilhan Omar's (D-MN) daughter was arrested for trespassing after protesting at Columbia University, which she does not attend, Omar joined her when she returned to protest again.
On Monday, the State Department announced that it had uncovered several instances of "gross violation of human rights" by the Israeli military. State Department principal deputy spokesman Vedant Patel announced the violations, stating:
"They have submitted additional information as it pertains to that unit. And we're continuing to have those conversations consistent with the memorandum of understanding that we have with the government of Israel that was entered into in 2021.
"When conclusions are made under actions that fall under the auspices of the Foreign Assistance Act, we are required to consult with officials from the government of Israel, and that is ongoing. We are engaging with them in a process, and we will make an ultimate decision when it comes to that unit when that process is complete."
Under the Leahy Law, the United States could suspend military aid to Israel if it was found to have committed extrajudicial killings, rapes, torture, and other flagrant human rights abuses. The State Department would not go into the specific violations it uncovered, only saying that four of the units have been addressed and are working on the fifth, as noted above. It does not appear that these violations will cost Israel its aid.
The timing of this could not be worse for Israel. By no means am I suggesting that the United States should work to cover up any human rights violations it finds, but at the same time, announcing this while our college campuses are being torn apart by radical pro-Palestine and Hamas supporters is only going to fuel that fire.
You can bank on the fact that radical Democrats will now be demanding aid to Israel cease while at the same time demanding that we send aid into Gaza, where we know Hamas is stealing it and either using the aid itself or it winds up on the black market (there have been numerous reports about aid being stolen since this war broke out).
Republicans need to stand firm here regarding the support of Israel, especially since these incidents were not tied to the war with Hamas in any way. These were instances that took place prior to this, and as noted above, four of the five units involved have already been held accountable.
