Attorney sues Kerry, Hagel over Israel aid

A Palestinian-American attorney sued US Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel to halt military aid to Israel.

Akram Abusharar, who is licensed as an attorney in Michigan but practices in Anaheim, California, also is suing the US officials to deny Israeli military officers entry into the United States, according to the OC Weekly, an Orange County newspaper. He filed his lawsuit in Santa Ana, California, on Tuesday.

“Plaintiff and his family have suffered at the hands of the Israeli army over the years,” the complaint read, according to the newspaper. “His brother was killed when he was 16 in 1988 by the Israeli army. His family of over 30 people was nearly killed in the explosion this past week. His father passed away as a result of the siege in Gaza because he could not obtain the proper medical treatment in April 2014. Many other homes in the area have been bombed and destroyed.”

Court officials in Orange County sent a 60-day summons calling for Kerry and Hagel to reply to the complaint.

The United States supplies Israel with $3 billion in annual military aid, as well as funding for the Iron Dome missile defense system that proved successful in intercepting Hamas rockets fired from the Gaza Strip targeting Israel.

Abusharar specializes in immigration law.