U.S. Government Attorneys Seek Investigations into Deaths of American Citizens in West Bank and Gaza

Three current attorneys employed by the U.S. government have charged the Department of Justice with a “glaring gap” in its enforcement of U.S. laws concerning instances where American citizens were allegedly killed by Israeli military personnel or civilians. These legal professionals, two of whom communicated with the BBC without revealing their identities, expressed worries in correspondence sent to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, indicating a “potential violation of US law”. They referenced incidents involving Americans reportedly killed during Israeli operations in the occupied West Bank, Gaza, and Lebanon, urging the department to initiate inquiries. When questioned about the letter and additional concerns presented by its writers, the Department of Justice chose not to provide a statement. In response to a request for comment regarding the cases mentioned in the letter, the Israeli embassy in Washington stated: “The State of Israel is committed to the rule of law. Every incident is thoroughly investigated by the IDF, and conclusions are drawn accordingly.” The correspondence emphasizes several principles concerning U.S. citizens killed overseas, which Mr. Garland, the head of the Department of Justice (DoJ), had recently brought to public attention. The nation’s chief legal officer had stressed the significance of enforcing U.S. law when Americans die abroad and the necessity of broadening U.S. jurisdiction to prosecute alleged war crimes, irrespective of the accused individuals’ nationality. The letter states: “We write to address the glaring gap in our enforcement of these principles in connection with potential violations of U.S. law by Israeli government forces, citizens, and others acting in concert with them.” “Despite credible evidence of violations of U.S. law… the Department has taken no public steps to hold the perpetrators to account, even when the victims are U.S. citizens. “[T]he Department’s silence and apparent inaction is a stark omission,” it further notes. The authors of the letter indicate that, in contrast to the U.S. Department of State, the justice department lacks an unofficial channel for active officials to voice disagreement. The extent to which the opinions presented in the letter are held by the thousands of lawyers employed by the department remains uncertain. Their correspondence names five U.S. citizens who died in the occupied West Bank: Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, Tawfiq Abdel Jabbar, Mohammad Khdour, Omar Assad, and Shireen Abu Akleh. The relatives of these individuals have sought accountability from Israeli forces or settlers purportedly responsible for their fatalities. Additionally, it references the instances of American aid worker Jacob Flickinger, who perished in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza, and Kamel Ahmad Jawad, a U.S. citizen killed in an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon. Two of the lawyers who drafted the letter, both experienced federal prosecutors within the Department of Justice, spoke with the BBC under the condition of anonymity. They addressed their letter to Mr. Garland as “your colleagues”. One individual informed the BBC that the perceived inaction regarding the deaths of Americans implied the justice department was functioning as an “apparatus of politics” for its ally. The second characterized “disparate treatment” concerning U.S. citizens possessing “connections to the Palestinians”. The attorney stated: “This is a no brainer… Within the DoJ, everyone agrees that the killing of an American citizen is a non starter. You don’t do that. And so the silence is deafening here.” The correspondence from the attorneys points out that the U.S. Department of Justice has filed charges against Hamas for the killings of American citizens. It further notes that the department initiated the first-ever charges under the U.S. war crimes statute against Russian military personnel related to the unlawful detention of an American national. However, it asserts that the department has declared no investigations into the deaths of Americans allegedly resulting from actions by Israeli military forces or civilians. The attorneys insist that the U.S. “apply the same rigor” to all nations in such instances. Their letter represents the most recent in an increasing number of public critiques over the past year, supported by hundreds of current and former U.S. officials, regarding policy on Israel and the conflict in Gaza. Although the justice department refrained from commenting on the letter, the U.S. Department of State, when questioned about similar cases, has affirmed that Israel conducts its own independent investigations, which should be permitted to proceed. Nevertheless, Palestinian and Israeli human rights organizations consistently highlight that these investigations rarely result in prosecutions or significant accountability. Following considerable public pressure, the FBI reportedly commenced an inquiry into the 2022 incident involving Shireen Abu Akleh, the Palestinian-American Al Jazeera correspondent killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank. However, this was never officially verified by the justice department, and no U.S. charges were ever filed against anyone in connection with the case.