The United States will provide an additional $3.5 billion in aid to Israel for the purchase of U.S.-made weapons and military equipment, according to the Department of State.
This decision comes as the ongoing conflict in Gaza reaches its tenth month, amid allegations of widespread Israeli army abuses in the occupied Palestinian territories.
A State Department spokesperson confirmed on Friday that Congress was notified on Thursday about the Biden administration’s plan to release these funds as part of foreign military financing for Israel.
The announcement follows reports from U.S. media about the release of the funds, which are part of a $14.5 billion supplemental funding bill for Israel that Congress approved in April. This is in addition to the more than $3 billion in annual U.S. military aid that Israel had already received.
A portion of this new aid will be directed to an Israeli military unit accused of committing human rights violations against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. Despite these allegations, the State Department has decided against sanctioning the unit, stating that it is satisfied with Israeli efforts to address and “effectively remediate” the violations.
Although the U.S. government has not publicly identified the unit, it is believed to be the Netzah Yehuda battalion, which has a history of operating in the occupied West Bank.
The battalion and some of its members have been linked to several incidents of abuse against Palestinian civilians, including the death of a 78-year-old Palestinian-American man in 2022 following his detention by the unit.
The decision to continue funding Netzah Yehuda comes after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken acknowledged in April that an Israeli army battalion had committed serious human rights abuses against Palestinians.
This triggered an investigation under U.S. law, specifically the Leahy Law, which governs U.S. military aid to foreign forces involved in human rights violations.
