New legislation in Congress criticizes U.S. military assistance to Israel

Rep. McCollum cited the NGO B’Tselem in her press release, saying that the organization “repeatedly documented that children are subject to abuse and, in some cases, torture.”

By OMRI NAHMIAS
Israeli ambassador to the United States Ron Dermer speaks to members of Congress in 2014 (photo credit: REUTERS)
Israeli ambassador to the United States Ron Dermer speaks to members of Congress in 2014
(photo credit: REUTERS)
WASHINGTON – New legislation in Congress is seeking to “promote human rights for Palestinian children living under Israeli military occupation,” and require that “United States funds do not support military detention, interrogation, abuse or ill-treatment of Palestinian children and for other purposes.”
Congresswoman Betty McCollum, a Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Representative (DFL) of Minnesota, sponsored the legislation. In a press release, she said that “Israel’s system of military juvenile detention is state-sponsored child abuse designed to intimidate and terrorize Palestinian children and their families.”
“It must be condemned, but it is equally outrageous that US tax dollars in the form of military aid to Israel are permitted to sustain what is clearly a gross human rights violation against children,” she added.
The legislation includes a sense of Congress that “the detention, prosecution and ill-treatment of Palestinian children living under military occupation in a military court system that lacks basic and fundamental guarantees of due process by the Government of Israel violates international law and internationally recognized standards of human rights,” and “is contrary to the values of the American people.”
Rep. McCollum cited the NGO B’Tselem in her press release, saying that the organization “repeatedly documented that children are subject to abuse and, in some cases, torture.”
In addition, the bill is seeking to establish a special fund under the name “Human Rights Monitoring and Palestinian Child Victims of Israeli Military Detention Fund,” and to authorize an annual amount of $19 million for “non-governmental organization monitoring of human rights abuses associated with Israel’s military detention of children.”
“I strongly believe there is a growing consensus among the American people that the Palestinian people deserve justice, equality, human rights and the right to self-determination,” the Congresswoman wrote. “It is time to stand with Palestinians, Americans, Israelis and people around the world to reject the destructive, dehumanizing, and anti-peace policies of Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu and [US] President [Donald] Trump.”