The Biden administration is set to impose sanctions on the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) for alleged human rights violations against Palestinians in the West Bank, according to a report by news site Axios.
The United States is slated to announce sanctions against the IDF’s Netzah Yehuda, as the battalion has been at the centre of several controversies in the past involving right-wing extremism and violence against Palestinians, notably including the death in 2022 of Omar Assad, a 78-year-old Palestinian-American who died after being detained, handcuffed, blindfolded and then abandoned by the battalion’s soldiers in near-freezing conditions.
Top US officials, including President Joe Biden, have increasingly criticised Israel’s military offensive in the besieged terror war, where the rising civilian death toll has sparked protests around the world.
Shortly after the Axios article was published, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded and condemned any sanctions imposed on the IDF, saying that the Israel Army “must not be sanctioned!” He said:
In recent weeks, I have been working against the imposition of sanctions on Israeli citizens, including in my conversations with senior American government officials. At a time when our soldiers are fighting the monsters of terror, the intention to impose a sanction on a unit in the IDF is the height of absurdity and a moral low. The government headed by me will act by all means against these moves.
Israeli wartime cabinet member and long-time opposition leader Benny Gantz also criticised possible sanctions against the unit in a post on Saturday night, calling the “Netzah Yehuda” battalion as an “inseparable part of the Israel Defense Forces” and said the unit is subject to military and international laws. Gantz highlighted:
The State of Israel has a strong, independent judicial system that evaluates meticulously any claim of a violation or deviation from IDF orders and code of conduct, and will continue to do so.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said on Saturday that imposing “sanctions on our soldiers is a red line.” He also expressed hope that he “expects Defence Minister Yoav Gallant not to submit to American dictates” and that the members of Netzah Yehuda “must be fully supported.” He stressed:
If there is not anybody at the Defence Ministry who will back up the battalion as required, I will ask to absorb them into the Israel Police and the Ministry of National Security, continued Gvir, who added that he would be willing to integrate the battalion into the Border Police.
The sanctions would prohibit the transfer of US weapons to the mostly ultra-Orthodox infantry unit and prevent its soldiers from training with US forces or participating in any US-sponsored activities, according to the Axios report. Laws drafted by then-Senator Patrick Leahy in the late 1990s prohibit military assistance to individuals or units of security forces that commit gross human rights violations and have not been prosecuted.
Asked at a press conference in Italy about reports that the State Department had recommended cutting off military aid to some Israeli units because of possible human rights violations in the West Bank, Antony Blinken did not directly confirm the reports, but promised results very soon. He said:
I think you’re referring to the so-called Leahy Law and our work under that. So, this is a very important law, and it’s the one that we apply across the board. And when we’re doing these investigations, these inquiries, it’s something that takes time, that has to be done very carefully both in collecting the facts and analysing them – and that’s exactly what we’ve done. And I think it’s fair to say that you’ll see results very soon. I’ve made determinations; you can expect to see them in the days ahead.
Despite, a source informed that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has decided not to sanction other military and police units being investigated by the administration because he has seen adjustments in their behaviour.
The conflict was sparked by an attack on 7 October 2023 on southern Israel by Hamas and other militant groups that killed about 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages into the Gaza Strip. Israel immediately declared war and launched airstrikes on the Gaza Strip before cutting off food, fuel, energy and medical supplies to the territory. In late October, a ground offensive on the Gaza Strip began, killing more than 34,000 people and injuring 76,000, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.
