U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to within days announce sanctionsagainst the Israel Defense Forces “Netzah Yehuda” battalion for human rights violations in the occupied West Bank, three U.S. sources with knowledge of the issue told Axios.
Why it matters: It would be the first time the U.S. imposed sanctions on an Israeli military unit.
- The sanctions will ban the battalion and its members from receiving any kind of U.S. military assistance or training, the sources said.
- A 1997 law authored by then-Senator Patrick Leahy prohibits U.S. foreign aid and Defense Department training programs from going to foreign security, military and police units credibly alleged to have committed human rights violations.
Driving the news: On Thursday, ProPublica reported that a special State Department panel that investigated alleged violations of human rights based on the Leahy law recommended months ago that Blinken disqualify multiple Israeli military and police units that operate in the West Bank from receiving U.S. aid.
