The United States will discuss the death of elderly American citizen Omar Assad, who was killed by Israeli forces last year, “directly” with Israel after the country’s military announced it would not pursue criminal charges in the case.
In early 2021, Assad, who was 80 years old, suffered a stress-induced heart attack after being arbitrarily held, bound, blindfolded and gagged by Israeli forces, then left unconscious on the ground at a cold construction site in the occupied territory. West Bank.
The Israeli army said on Tuesday it found no “causal link” between the way its soldiers treated Assad and the death of the US citizen.
The US State Department, which often reiterates that the safety of Americans abroad is its top priority, said Wednesday it was investigating the Israeli findings.
“We are aware of the conclusion of the investigation and we are currently seeking more information from the Israeli government on this,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters. “We’re going to talk to them directly about it.”
Miller said Washington expected “full accountability” in the case early on.
“We have been clear about our deep concern about the circumstances surrounding the death of Omar Assad and the need for such accountability,” he added.
Leahy Law
Assad was one of two US citizens killed by Israel last year — the other, Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, was fatally shot by Israeli forces while covering a raid on Jenin in the occupied West Bank.
Israeli authorities rarely prosecute abuses by their forces against Palestinians, but the US strongly opposes Palestinians’ attempts to hold themselves accountable to the International Criminal Court, including in the case of Abu Akleh.
Israel, accused of imposing an apartheid system by leading human rights organizations such as Amnesty International, receives at least $3.8 billion annually in US aid.
President Joe Biden and his top aides often emphasize Washington’s “ironclad” commitment to Israel.
Adam Shapiro, director of advocacy for Israel-Palestine at Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), a US-based human rights organization, called for meaningful accountability for Assad’s assassination.
He said the Biden administration should apply the Leahy law, which prohibits US aid to foreign troops involved in gross human rights abuses, to the Israeli Netzah Yehuda unit involved in Assad’s assassination.
Shapiro added that the State Department has looked at the matter from the perspective of the Leahy law after DAWN filed a reference last October to the US government underlining that blindfolding Assad violated Israeli regulations.
“We believe that not only should that process continue, but that this closure of the Israeli investigation requires the State Department to now impose Leahy Law sanctions on the unit,” Shapiro told Al Jazeera.
He added that by blindfolding Assad, Israeli soldiers “took a deliberate and intentional action contrary to their own rules.” He said the Palestinian autopsy report on Assad’s death noted that the elderly US citizen’s gagging and blindfolding contributed to his heart attack.
“We have a direct line of causation between the deliberate illegal actions of the Israeli soldiers and Assad’s death,” Shapiro said.
“Same Message”
Osama Abuirshaid, executive director of American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), for its part, expressed concern on Wednesday at the State Department’s statement.
“It’s the same message: ‘We’re following up; we are in contact with our Israeli counterparts; we demand an investigation by the Israelis.” But if the outcome of an investigation is released and it doesn’t meet expectations, we don’t see a US response,” Abuirshaid told Al Jazeera.
In February 2022, Washington welcomed an Israeli report saying Assad’s death “demonstrated a clear lack of moral judgment” and announced disciplinary action against the commander of the Netzah Yehuda unit.
“The United States expects a thorough criminal investigation and full accountability in this matter,” the State Department said at the time.
Abuirshaid said that if the Biden administration does not impose consequences on Israel for killing Assad, it would be abdicating its responsibility to protect American citizens.
“Our problem is not just with Israel and its mistreatment of US citizens, but our problem is primarily with our own administration – with our own government here – enabling Israel to continue its mistreatment of US citizens,” Abuirshaid said. , also referring to the murder. from Abu Akleh.