The official spokesman for the US State Department, Matthew Miller, confirmed last night that the United States will discuss with the Israeli authorities directly the issue of closing the investigation file regarding the circumstances of the martyrdom of the Palestinian American citizen Omar Asaad (79), who died after being detained by the Israeli occupation authorities in January. the second of 2022.

Miller said, in response to a question from Al-Quds.com correspondent, in his press conference, that Washington is seeking more information from the Israeli government after the Israeli army announced that no criminal charges would be brought against an officer and a soldier because of Asaad.

"What I will say is that, as we have stated previously on this case, we expected a thorough criminal investigation and full accountability," Miller said. "We have been clear that we are deeply concerned about the circumstances surrounding Omar al-Asaad's death and the need for such accountability."

“Israel itself has stated that the incident demonstrated a clear lapse of moral judgment and a failure to protect the sanctity of human life,” Miller added. “Since the tragic death of Mr. Al-Asaad, we have continued to discuss this disturbing incident with the Israeli government. We are aware of the outcome of the investigation and are currently seeking further information.” from the Israeli government on this matter.

Miller confirmed to our correspondent: "As I said, we are aware of this (about closing the investigation file) and we are seeking to obtain more information from the Israeli government, and we will talk to them directly about this matter."

At that time, the United States had expressed its concern about the Israeli army's report on the circumstances of his martyrdom.

Last December, a rights group called on the US State Department to cut funding to the notorious Israeli battalion by implementing the "Leahy Act," named after the Democratic Senator from Vermont, Patrick Leahy.

The call was made by Democracy in the Arab World Now (DAWN), which released a report on human rights violations and war crimes committed by the Israeli occupation army's Netzah Yehuda Brigade, a special unit of ultra-Orthodox Jewish soldiers.

The Leahy Act (or Leahy Amendments) are US human rights statutes that prohibit the State Department and the US Department of Defense from providing military assistance to units of foreign security forces that violate human rights with impunity. It is named after its main sponsor, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont).

In the process of implementing this law, US embassies, the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor and the appropriate regional office of the US State Department screen potential recipients of security assistance, and if a unit is found to be credibly implicated in a serious human rights violation, assistance is denied until action is taken. The government of the host country takes effective steps to bring responsible persons within the unit to justice. While the United States government does not publicly announce which foreign armed forces units have cut off assistance, press reports have indicated that the United States has legally cut off security forces and National Defense Forces units in Bangladesh, Bolivia, Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, Nigeria, Turkey, Indonesia, Lebanon, and Saint Lucia of assistance due to Leahy's Law, but excluded Israel.