The American sanctions they don’t just affect people settlers who committed violence against the Palestinian population. For the first time, the same measure was also taken towards a battalion of the Israeli army. As reported by Axiosthe US Secretary of State, Antony Blinkenwill shortly announce sanctions against the ultra-Orthodox battalion Netzah Yehuda from the Israel Defense Forces (Idf) per human rights violations in the West Bank busy. He charges that the battalion has been facing for years now.
A first step which, among other things, ignores the violations reported during the military operation in Gaza Stripbut which represents an unprecedented action within the historic alliance between Washington e Tel Aviv. The sanctions would prohibit the battalion and its members from receiving any kind of assistance or training US military, despite the fact that the US House has just approved an aid package from 26 billion for the ‘Jewish State’.
Rumors regarding possible sanctions on the Israeli military and institutional apparatus had also circulated in mid-February, when the local media spoke of a 60 day ultimatum launched by Washington to receive information and justifications from Tel Aviv regarding some alleged violations of human rights during the numerous operations carried out in Occupied Territories. Answers that, evidently, never arrived.
The decision, however, is so unprecedented that it has managed to unite a large part of the Israeli political front, which was opposed to the American move. Obviously among the first to react was the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who called America’s decision “absurd”: “Sanctions must not be imposed on the Israel Defense Forces – he said – In recent weeks I have been working against sanctions on Israeli citizens, including in my conversations with senior US government officials . At a time when our soldiers are fighting the monsters of terror, the intention of sanctions on an IDF unit is the height of absurdity it’s a low moral level. The government led by me will act with all means against these moves.”
In agreement with him, his main electoral rival, but currently a member of the war cabinet, Benny Gantzaccording to which the battalion “operates in accordance with international law. The State of Israel has a strong and independent judiciary, which knows how to monitor and examine any violation of the law or deviation from the orders of the IDF and so we will. I have great respect for our American friends, but imposing sanctions on unity is a dangerous precedent and it also sends the wrong message to our common enemies in times of war. I will work to ensure that this decision does not pass.”
Despite Gantz’s words, there are numerous alleged violations of human rights and crimes reported by the Palestinian population, even with video documentation, with the army always promising in-depth investigations without however taking heavy measures against those responsible. Despite this, protests against Washington are also coming from the opposition. The leader of Blue White, Yair Lapidhe defined “a mistake” the US decision but stated that “the source of the problem is not the military level but the political one”: “The world understands and knows – he explained – that the minister Itamar Ben Gvir does not want the police to enforce the law in the West Bank and that the minister Bezalel Smotrich is not against the Jewish terrorism and to the extreme revolts of the settlers. The result is grave damage to Israel’s status as a nation of law and another grave erosion of our international status.”
Photo: Netzah Yehuda Battalion site