US to issue sanctions on Israeli military unit , Netanyahu get Angrey

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to impose sanctions on an Israel Defense Forces battalion for allegedly committing human rights violations in the occupied West Bank, according to a report.

The US is expected within days to announce the punitive measure, which would be the first time the US sanctions an Israeli army unit, Axios reported on Saturday, citing three people with knowledge of the matter in the US that it didn’t identify. The US Embassy in Israel declined to comment.

Blacklisting the Netzah Yehuda Battalion would prohibit it from receiving US military equipment or training.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday said he will reveal “in the days ahead” his determinations on whether specific Israeli military or police units are liable to be sanctioned under the so-called Leahy Law, which bars military assistance to other countries’ security forces that violate human rights.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned that US plan to sanction an ultra-Orthodox army battalion over human rights abuses in the West Bank, a move which could fuel tensions over Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.

“At a time when our soldiers are fighting terrorist monsters, the intention to sanction a unit in the IDF is the height of absurdity and a moral low,” Netanyahu wrote on X, referring to the Israel Defense Forces.