United States Department of State Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Washington, D.C. April 25, 2016 10-6258 Reverend Susan P. Wilder Faith Forum on Middle East Policy Dear Reverend Wilder: ‘Thank you for the letter regarding allegations of human rights abuses in Israel. The Department of State takes seriously its responsibility to implement the Leahy Law and does not provide assistance to any individual or unit when there is credible information that they have been implicated in gross violations of human rights (GVHR). When foreign security forces are nominated to receive U.S. assistance, our embassies and offices in Washington research the nominees using unclassified and classified sources. If derogatory information is found during this vetting and is determined to be credible, assistance is denied. In cases where more information is needed to determine the credibility of a GVHR allegation, our embassies seek to engage with the host governments to get more information. Our embassies research reports of GVHR, and many such incidents receive subsequent coverage in the Department’s yearly Human Rights Reports. We continue to emphasize that host governments should investigate credible allegations in a timely and transparent manner, and signal to security forces that such tactics are not tolerated. In Israel and the Palestinian Territories, the Department has noted several of the allegations referred to in the material you provided, including the cases of Fadi Alloun, Saad al-Atrash, and Hadee] Hashlamoun. The case of Hadeel Hashlamoun is documented in our 2015 Country Report on Human Rights Practices. You have also likely heard of the March 24 killing of Adel Fattah al-Sharif, who was shot while apparently incapacitated after he had attacked an Israeli soldier. The Israeli military launched an investigation of this incident, which we are following closely, and an Israeli soldier has been charged with manslaughter. We hope this information is useful to you. Please do not hesitate to contact us if we can be of further assistance. Sincerely, ak 6), RT Anne Patterson