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Netanyahu asks Kerry to publicly defend Israel against accusation of human rights abuses

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with US Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday to protest a letter authored by Senator Patrick Leahy and 10 Democratic Senators demanding that the US probe Israel for alleged human rights abuses and extra judicial killings of Palestinian terrorists.

By: Aryeh Savir, World Israel News
Patrick Leahy

Sen. Patrick Leahy. (AP/Lauren Victoria Burke)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with US Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday to protest a letter authored by Senator Patrick Leahy and 10 Democratic Senators demanding that the US probe Israel for alleged human rights abuses and extra judicial killings of Palestinian terrorists.

Netanyahu said he hoped the State Department in Washington would make clear to the Congressmen that Israel does not engage in executions and, if exceptional events occur, a thorough investigation is conducted by the relevant authorities.

Leahy and 10 other Democratic Congressmen wrote a letter Kerry calling for an investigation into alleged Israeli and Egyptian war crimes and human rights abuses. In the letter, they demanded the suspension of US military aid to the two countries if allegations prove true.

Israel has been contending with a six-month wave of Palestinian terrorist attacks, which have claimed the lives of 34 victims and wounded over 200.

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Responding publicly to the accusations, Netanyahu rejected Leahy’s claims and underscored the lopsidedness of the accusations.

“The IDF and the Israel Police do not engage in executions,” Netanyahu insisted on Wednesday, “Israel’s soldiers and police officers defend themselves and innocent civilians with the highest moral standards against bloodthirsty terrorists who come to murder them.”

“Where is the concern for the human rights of the many Israelis who’ve been murdered and maimed by these savage terrorists?” Netanyahu asked rhetorically. There is no mention of human rights abuses or war crimes committed by the Palestinian Authority (PA), which is a beneficiary of US aid.