The United States is considering imposing sanctions on one or more Israeli battalions accused of human rights abuses during operations in the occupied West Bank, according to people familiar with the deliberations.
Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said on Saturday that the potential for the Biden administration to impose such sanctions while Israeli forces are at war with Hamas in Gaza is “the height of absurdity and moral depravity.” He said that it was. Prime Minister Netanyahu said on social media. post He said his government would “take all necessary action” against such a move.
News of the possible sanctions, which Axios reported earlier, comes just one day after the House of Representatives approved $26 billion in aid to Israel and humanitarian aid to civilians in conflict zones, including Gaza. If sanctions are imposed, the military aid just approved by Congress cannot be maintained.
The potential sanctions against Netza Yehuda and other battalions would be triggered under the so-called Leahy Act of 1997, which prohibits foreign military units accused of human rights abuses from receiving U.S. aid or training. become.
It is unclear what impact the sanctions will have in practice, given that funding for specific Israeli units is difficult to trace and the battalions in question are not trained by the United States. But it is clear that such a punitive move, especially coming from Israel's closest ally, will sting.
Netza Yehuda, which has been accused of violence against Palestinians in the West Bank in the past, was founded for ultra-Orthodox Jewish men whose strict religious observances demand separation of men and women. The battalion also attracts other Orthodox soldiers, including hardline nationalists from the West Bank settler movement.
One of the most egregious episodes attributed to the Netza Yehuda Battalion was the death of a 78-year-old Palestinian American who was restrained, gagged, and handcuffed by members of the unit during a night raid on a village in January 2022. It concerns the death of a man.
An autopsy revealed that Omar Abdelmajeed Assad died of a stress-induced heart attack caused by injuries sustained while being detained. An investigation by the Israeli military justice system found that the actions of the soldiers involved were flawed, with the military saying they “acted inconsistently with what is expected and expected of Israeli soldiers.”
After an investigation, the Israeli military took disciplinary action against three of the unit's commanders. However, no criminal charges were filed against the soldiers, as the military said at the time that there was no causal link between Assad's death and the soldiers' failure to act.
Human rights groups have long accused Israel's military justice system of covering up wrongdoing and allowing the military to act with impunity.
The Biden administration has warned Israel of rising levels of settler violence against Palestinians and anti-settler activists in the occupied West Bank, imposing economic and travel sanctions on several individuals and recently It also imposed sanctions on two grassroots organizations that were collecting funds. Some of those individuals.
Benny Gantz, a centrist member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's wartime cabinet and former military commander, said imposing sanctions on Israeli military units would set a “dangerous precedent.”
The sharp rebuke came just hours after Israeli officials hailed a bipartisan parliamentary vote approving billions of dollars in aid to Israel, marking a dramatic shift that has characterized recent relations between President Biden and Mr. Netanyahu. revealed a contradiction.
While Biden reprimanded Netanyahu for civilian deaths in Gaza, he also supported Israel in repelling an attack from Iran this month and providing weapons used in the war there.
Biden has faced criticism and anger for months, even from some members of his own party, over his support for Israel's war in the Gaza Strip, as the death toll in the Gaza Strip rises, and against Israeli forces. Any imposition of sanctions may be viewed as misconduct. A type of counterweight. More than 34,000 Palestinians have died in the six-month war, according to Gaza health officials.
Mick Mulroy, a former CIA official and senior Pentagon official, said imposing such sanctions on a close ally like Israel is unusual and “should send a message.”
Kov Blaha, former director of the State Department's Bureau of Democracy and Human Rights, said he hoped the decision to impose sanctions would “incentivize Israel to improve its accountability.”
natan odenheimer and Gabby Sobelman Contributed to the report.