US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has failed to take action against Israel for alleged human rights violations carried out by its forces against Palestinians, despite recommendations given to him by officials in his own department, a news report says.
A special State Department panel – the Israel Leahy Vetting Forum – made the recommendations in December to halt American aid to Israeli military and police units allegedly involved in abuses, but Blinken has not acted, current and former department officials told US news outlet ProPublica, reports Al Jazeera.
“They’ve been sitting in his briefcase since then,” one unnamed official is quoted as saying.
The allegations against Israeli forces include extrajudicial killings, torture and rape. The abuses occurred mostly in the occupied West Bank and before Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, it said.
A State Department spokesperson told ProPublica a “careful and full review” is under way.
Bd-pratidin English/Tanvir Raihan
