Netanyahu vows to fight any US sanctions imposed on IDF unit accused of human rights violations in the West Bank

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Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would fight planned US sanctions on an IDF unit accused of grave human rights violations in the West Bank with 'all [his] strength.'

Reports on Saturday claimed that the Biden administration was planning on imposing sanctions on Israel's Netzah Yehuda battalion, which has largely operated in the occupied West Bank and was accused in 2022 of allowing an elderly Palestinian-American man to die after he suffered 'extreme violence' at the soldiers' hands. 

The reports came a day after the US announced a series of sanctions linked to Israeli settlers in the West Bank, in the latest sign of growing frustration with Netanyahu and his cabinet, which relies on settler parties to stay in power. 

'If anyone thinks they can impose sanctions on a unit of the IDF - I will fight it with all my strength,' Netanyahu said in a statement.

The sanctions on Netzah Yehuda are the first to be imposed on the IDF by the US. It was revealed that the US has been planning the sanctions on the unit for months. 

Investigative news outlet ProPublica reported that a special State Department panel known as the Israel Leahy Vetting Forum had recommended months ago to US Secretary of State Blinken that multiple Israeli military and police units be disqualified from receiving US aid, after allegations of human rights violations. 

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu (pictured) said he would fight US sanctions on Netzah Yehuda with 'all [his] strength'

US president Joe Biden's (pictured) administration is set to impose sanctions on Netzah Yehuda

Israeli soldiers of the Ultra-Orthodox battalion 'Netzah Yehuda' take part in their annual unit training in the Israeli annexed Golan Heights

US officials said about five Israeli units were investigated and all but one had been found to have taken action to remedy the violations of The Leahy Law, named for former Senator Patrick Leahy, which bars US aid from going to foreign military units that have committed human rights abuses.

Blinken on Friday said he had made 'determinations' regarding accusations that Israel violated a set of US laws that prohibit providing military assistance to individuals or security force units that commit gross violations of human rights. 

The incidents that were the subject of allegations took place in the West Bank and mostly occurred before Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza began on October 7, the outlet said.

Before the Gaza war, violence had already been on the rise in the West Bank, land that the Palestinians seek for a state, and it has risen since with frequent Israeli raids, Palestinian street attacks and settler rampages in Palestinian villages.

The Israeli military said the Netzah Yehuda battalion is an active combat unit that operates according to the principles of international law.

'Following publications about sanctions against the battalion, the IDF is not aware of the issue,' the military said. 'If a decision is made on the matter it will be reviewed. The IDF works and will continue to work to investigate any unusual event in a practical manner and according to law.'

In 2022, Netzah Yehuda's battalion commander was reprimanded and two officers were dismissed over the death of an elderly Palestinian-American whom the unit's soldiers had detained in the West Bank, an incident that stirred concern in Washington.

There have been several other incidents in recent years, some captured on video, in which Netzah Yehuda soldiers were accused of or charged with abusing Palestinian detainees.

The unit came under heavy American criticism in 2022 after an elderly Palestinian-American man was found dead shortly after he was detained at a West Bank checkpoint.

A Palestinian autopsy said Omar Assad, 78, had underlying health conditions, but had suffered a heart attack caused by 'external violence.'

It said doctors found bruises on his head, redness on his wrists from being bound and bleeding in his eyelids from being tightly blindfolded. A military investigation said that Israeli soldiers assumed that Assad was asleep when they cut off the cables binding his hands. 

They didn't offer medical help when they saw that he was unresponsive and left the scene without checking to see if he was alive. 

FILE - Mourners carry the body of Omar Assad, during his funeral in the West Bank village of Jiljiliya, north of Ramallah on January 13, 2022

Israeli soldiers of the Ultra Orthodox battalion 'Netzah Yehuda' pray on the ancient hilltop fortress of Masada in Judean desert

An Ultra-orthodox Jewish fighter from the Netzah Yehuda Battalion in the Israeli Army has his epaulet changed by his commander

A reservist in the Netzah Yehuda unit, Sgt. Maj. Nadav Nissim Miranda, said the Assad death was 'an unfortunate incident' but also an aberration. He told Channel 12 TV that targeting the battalion would hurt efforts to encourage religious men to enlist. 

Assad had lived in the US for four decades. After an outcry from the US government, the Israeli military said the incident 'was a grave and unfortunate event, resulting from moral failure and poor decision-making on the part of the soldiers.' 

It added one officer was reprimanded and two other officers reassigned to non-commanding roles, over the incident.

But the army decided against criminal prosecution, saying military investigators could not directly link their actions to the death of the US citizen.

Human rights groups long have argued that Israel rarely holds soldiers accountable for the deaths of Palestinians.

Investigators said soldiers were forced to restrain Assad because of his 'aggressive resistance.' 

Assad's family has expressed skepticism that the behavior of an ailing 78-year-old could justify such harsh treatment.

Yesh Din, an Israeli legal advocacy group, said the case was not isolated. It said one out of every five soldiers convicted of harming Palestinians or their property since 2010 comes from Netzah Yehuda, making it the unit with the highest conviction rate for such cases. 

Gadi Shamni, a retired general who once served as the military´s commander over the West Bank, said a main problem with the unit is that it was traditionally assigned exclusively to the West Bank. Violence between troops and Palestinians and settlers and Palestinians has surged there in recent years. In contrast, he said other units regularly rotate in and out of the volatile area.

He said the exposure to nonstop friction and violence had caused a level of 'tiredness' among the troops. Nonetheless, he said it was a stereotype to punish the entire unit and it would have been better to target specific individuals or commanders.

Ultra-Orthodox Israelis gather prior to a military graduation ceremony on May 26, 2013 in Jerusalem

Israeli soldiers of the Ultra Orthodox battalion 'Netzah Yehuda' listen to their rabbi Bar Haim at the ancient hilltop fortress of Masada

The Netzah Yehuda Battalion is a battalion in the Kfir Brigade of the Israel military which was created to allow religious Israelis to serve in the army in an atmosphere respecting their religious convictions

But Ori Givati, the director of advocacy at Breaking the Silence, an Israeli group of former combat soldiers critical of Israel´s occupation, said the problems run much deeper than any particular unit.

He said abuses of power by soldiers toward Palestinians are systematic and the lack of repercussions for wrongdoings are fueling incidents like the death of Assad.

Amid the uproar with the US, Israel moved Netzah Yehuda out of the West Bank in late 2022 and reassigned it to northern Israel. The battalion was moved to the southern border with Gaza after Hamas´ Oct. 7 attack triggered the ongoing war.

In a statement Sunday, the army said its Netzah Yehuda soldiers 'are currently participating in the war effort in the Gaza Strip.'

'The battalion is professionally and bravely conducting operations in accordance to the IDF Code of Ethics and with full commitment to international law,' it said. It said that if the unit is sanctioned, 'its consequences will be reviewed.'

The unit came under heavy American criticism in 2022 after an elderly Palestinian-American man was found dead shortly after he was detained at a West Bank checkpoint

The sanctions on Netzah Yehuda are the first to be imposed on the IDF by the US

It was revealed that the US has been planning the sanctions on the unit for months

Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz, a centrist former armed forces chief, said in a statement on Sunday that he spoke with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and asked him to reconsider the matter.

The State Department said Blinken spoke with Gantz and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant about Israel's security, efforts to ensure the conflict in Gaza does not spread and the need for an immediate ceasefire and increased flow of humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza. The US statements did not mention sanctions.

Gantz said any such sanctions would be a mistake because they would harm Israel's legitimacy during a time of war and that they were unjustified because Israel has an independent justice system and a military that keeps international law. 

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, another member of the War Cabinet, said he delivered a similar message to the US ambassador to Israel, Jack Lew, and planned on talking to Blinken as well in hopes of blocking the expected decision. 

He said punishing the unit could cast a shadow over the entire Israeli military: 'That's not the way to behave with partners and friends.' 

Israel's ultranationalist national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, said the US crossed a 'red line,' and Tally Gotliv, a member of Netanyahu's Likud party, accused the US of antisemitism.

Even the head of the opposition, former Prime Minister Yair Lapid, rejected the move.

He said the anticipated sanctions are 'a mistake and we must act to cancel them.' He noted that 'the source of the problem is not at the military level but at the political level.'