The US is expected to announce sanctions against IDF unit for human rights abuses
| Published date | 20 April 2024 |
| Author | BARAK RAVID |
| Publication title | Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel) |
This will be the first time that the United States government has imposed sanctions on an Israeli military unit for its activities in the West Bank.
The sources stated that the American sanctions will prohibit the transfer of US military aid to the Netzah Yehuda Battalion, will prevent its soldiers and officers from taking part in training with the United States military, and will prevent the soldiers from this unit from participating in activities that receive American funding.
The sanctions are based on a 1997 law by former Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy, which prohibits the United States from providing military aid or training to security forces, the military, or the police when there is reliable information about human rights abuses.
A senior US administration official told Walla! that Blinken's decision is based on incidents that occurred before October 7 and occurred only in the West Bank.
This was the only unit Blinken decided to sanction
One of the sources stated that Blinken decided not to impose sanctions on several additional units in the IDF and the Israel Police that were also under investigation because they had corrected their conduct.
On Thursday, the American investigative website ProPublica reported that a special committee of the American State Department, which investigated allegations of human rights violations in the West Bank, forwarded recommendations a few months ago to Blinken to impose sanctions on several units of the IDF and the Israel Police and to prevent them from receiving American funding.
At a press conference in Italy on Friday, Blinken was asked about these recommendations, and claimed that he had made a decision on the matter and that an announcement about it would be made in the coming days.
Israeli officials condemn sanctions
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed outrage at the reported intention to sanction the unit, writing on X that "sanctions must not be imposed on the IDF!"
Netanyahu added that in recent weeks he's been working against the imposition of sanctions on Israeli citizens.
"At a time when our soldiers are fighting the monsters of terror, the...
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