A lawsuit has been filed against the United States Treasury on the grounds that 150 NGO's operating in the U.S. sent $280 billion to Israel in the past 20 years and the aid sent was reported as a deductible on the income tax expenses that were filed.According to report by Al Jazeera, the lawsuit was filed with the aim to stop the NGOs' support to Israeli military and the construction of illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. The lawsuit argues that the funds sent to Israel were filed as part of the U.S. income tax regulations' code 501(c) (3) and it violated the U.S. and international laws. It also adds that the NGOs' act damaged U.S. foreign policy for contributing to the countless crimes and human rights violations by the Israeli military against the Palestinians. The U.S. Treasury has not commented on the issue saying that there is an ongoing judicial process. Among those filing the lawsuit, Palestinian American author and human rights activist Susan Abulhawa, said that the NGOs must be forced to give back the rights of the victims of Israeli oppression. The lawyer for the case, Martin McMahon, said that the NGOs should be forced to pay back the past taxes worth hundreds of millions and their tax exemption statuses should be canceled. The U.S. Treasury has a 60 day period to answer the allegations on the lawsuit which was filed on December 21. It has been reported that the U.S. government has sent a $3.7 billion military aid to Israel.