CHICAGO: Lebanese community leaders in the US have said they will file a federal lawsuit against government agencies and private companies that supply Israel with weapons, military equipment and financing used in the bombing of civilian targets in Lebanon.
Israel’s ground invasion began on March 16. Supplied with American weapons and equipment, and supported by billions of dollars in US military funding, Israel has bombed major cities including Tyre, Sidon and Beirut.
“The number of American citizens of Lebanese heritage who have lost property in this Israeli war on Lebanon is large, so we’re filing a class action lawsuit to represent all of their interests,” Nasser Beydoun, president of the Arab American Civil Rights League, told Arab News on Tuesday.
“American citizens have rights there that are being injured by Israel, and Israel’s assault is being supported by the US government.”
Beydoun said the lawsuit will also target private companies that provide equipment that is used by Israel to destroy homes and property in Lebanon.
One of those is Caterpillar, the Illinois-based company that manufactures construction equipment such as the D9 tractor that Israel has used to destroy homes and property in Lebanon and Palestine.
“We’re filing the class action lawsuit under the Leahy Act, which basically says the US can’t sell weapons to any military or country that’s violating the rights of Americans or violating their own people’s human rights. Israel is using our tax dollars to destroy our homes in south Lebanon,” Beydoun said.
“The violence is concentrated in south Lebanon, and most particularly around Bint Jbeil. There’s a large community of people from Bint Jbeil who live here in Michigan, and many of their homes have been destroyed by Israel’s violence.”
Bint Jbeil is a village 8 miles from the border with Israel. The Bint Jbeil Center in Dearborn, Michigan, is a major gathering location for the Lebanese-American community.
A respected attorney and former candidate for Michigan’s Senate seat, Beydoun was joined by leaders of Michigan’s Lebanese-American community in announcing the lawsuit.
The US State Department and Caterpillar did not respond to requests for comment from Arab News.
