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\nSummary<\/p>\n
17 Lebanese Americans<\/a> sue U.S. government in Detroit federal court Imagine owning a vacation home in Florida, the Caribbean or Europe and the local police there set out to target gang activity \u2013 and wipe out your cottage or villa in the process.\n<\/p>\n That\u2019s what a new lawsuit alleges has happened in Lebanon<\/a>, where Israeli forces have bombed scores of Lebanese Americans\u2019 homes and businesses this year with the help of U.S. tax dollars \u2013 an arrangement that is now at the center of a novel lawsuit that seeks to hold the U.S. government responsible for the overseas devastation.\n<\/p>\n In an unprecedented move, 17 Lebanese Americans and a civil rights group are suing the federal government over Israeli bombings that have destroyed their homes, businesses and property in their native country of Lebanon, alleging the U.S. and various military contractors are responsible for their losses.<\/p>\n Specifically, the plaintiffs allege that the U.S. is giving Israel preferential treatment by allegedly supporting its attack on Lebanon, all while ignoring a federal human rights law that bans such support. More than 4,000 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Lebanon since March 2, including medics, women and children.\n<\/p>\n The lawsuit, though, is not about the loss of life.\n<\/p>\n It\u2019s about the loss of family homes, land and businesses that belong to Lebanese Americans who believe the U.S. government and multiple corporations did them wrong by allegedly supporting this warfare \u2212 either in the form of weapons, machinery or equipment \u2212 and need to pay up for their losses.<\/p>\n \u201cFor Lebanese Americans who watched their homes, family property, businesses, villages, and generations of history destroyed from thousands of miles away, this case is deeply personal,\u201d the Arab American Civil Rights League<\/a>, or ACRL, said in a statement on the eve of filing what it is calling a landmark lawsuit.\n<\/p>\n \u201cAt the center of this case is a fundamental question: Are the laws of the United States meant to be enforced equally \u2014or does Israel receive an exception?\u201d the ACRL states.\n<\/p>\n In a federal lawsuit filed on Tuesday, Aug. 11, in U.S. District Court in Detroit, the Arab American Civil Rights League and 17 plaintiffs allege the U.S. has ignored a federal human rights law known as the Leahy Act, which prohibits the U.S. from giving aid to a foreign military when there is credible information that that country has committed a \u201cgross violation of human rights.\u201d\n<\/p>\n That\u2019s what Israel has done, according to the lawsuit, yet still gets U.S. support, allegedly in violation of its own human rights law.\n<\/p>\n Since Oct. 7, 2023 \u2013 the day the Islamic militant group Hamas in Gaza launched a surprise attack on Israel that killed more than 1,200 Israelis \u2013 Israel has been engaged in an intense, on-and-off-again fight with Hezbollah, a similar group in Lebanon. Both Hamas and Hezbollah are backed by Iran, oppose Israel and have been designated terrorist organizations by the U.S and other countries. Since March, more than 4,000 people in Lebanon have been killed in Israeli attacks. In comparison, more than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel following the 2023 Hamas invasion, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The ongoing conflict has created several challenges for U.S. policy makers, including how to protect Israel from attacks by Iran-backed terrorist groups, and how to stop the violence from spreading in the region.\n<\/p>\n
\nPlaintiffs allege U.S. support for Israel<\/a> violates the federal Leahy Act<\/a>.
\nThe lawsuit seeks compensation for homes, businesses, land and other property allegedly destroyed in Israeli attacks.
\nBoeing<\/a>, Lockheed Martin<\/a> and Caterpillar<\/a> face claims tied to military equipment and machinery allegedly used in the destruction.<\/p>\n