Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Photo: YouTube screenshot.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected US Senator Patrick Leahy’s recent accusations against the Israeli army, the Hebrew news site nrg reported on Wednesday.

“IDF soldiers and Israeli police put their lives on the line to defend themselves and innocent civilians from bloodthirsty terrorists who try to kill them, while adhering to the highest moral standards,” Netanyahu wrote to Leahy. Netanyahu also questioned the senator’s lack of concern for Israelis who had been wounded by Palestinian terrorists. “This letter should have been addressed to those who incite children to engage in acts of cruel terrorism,” he said, referring to a Feb. 17 letter sent by Leahy and 10 members of the House of Representatives to Secretary of State John Kerry, listing examples of “gross violations of human rights,” including reports of “extrajudicial killings” committed by Israeli military forces.

This was not the Leahy’s first attack on the IDF. In 2011, he promoted a bill to cut American military aid to three elite IDF units, after reports arose that they had committed human rights violations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.