Five Israeli Defense Force units committed “serious human rights violations” outside the Gaza Strip ahead of the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack that killed hundreds of people, the State Department announced Monday.
Four of the IDF units have been “rehabilitated” by Israel, the spokesperson said, and the U.S. is still deciding whether to impose penalties on the unidentified fifth unit, including cutting off military training, equipment and other aid. It added that it would be considered.
“We continue to consult and engage with the Israeli government. We have submitted additional information regarding the unit,” State Department Principal Deputy Spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters.
Under the Leahy Act, the United States is prohibited from supporting military forces accused of violating human rights laws.
On April 19, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he had made a “decision” on accusations of human rights abuses in the West Bank, sparking speculation that sanctions were imminent.
However, in a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) last week, Mr. Blinken said that the 5th Unit, widely reported to be the Netza Yehuda Battalion, which is mainly made up of ultra-Orthodox nationalists, The ministry announced that it had received new information. Jew.
Patel stressed on Monday that the State Department was not prepared to announce any sanctions.
“The Israeli government has submitted additional information, which is currently under consideration.” “We are going through a process with them and once that process is complete, we will make a decision from there.”
Patel declined to give a timeline or when a final decision on sanctions would be made.
“The standard for redress is that each country takes effective steps to bring the responsible parties to justice. And it varies from country to country,” he said.
Patel also stressed that the incident “does not affect the broader security relationship” between the United States and Israel.
Reporters wondered if the State Department itself was complying with the Leahy Act by giving Israel a chance to improve the situation and having spokesmen deny that the Jewish state was receiving “special treatment” from Washington. I pursued Mr. Patel to see if this was the case.
The Netza Yehuda Battalion has been accused of wrongdoing in the death of Omar Assad, a 78-year-old Palestinian American who died of a heart attack in January 2022 after being arrested at an Israeli military checkpoint.
after that IDF investigation concludes Assad is dead The incident was a “grave and unfortunate incident resulting from the moral failings and poor decision-making of the soldiers” who refused to check on Assad, who was unconscious.
Last week, Prime Minister Johnson slammed the Biden administration over reports that it was considering sanctions against Israeli Defense Forces troops.
“I had heard rumors about this matter beforehand.” [aid] “The bill actually came up for a vote in the House of Commons a few hours before,” Johnson told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt last week, adding that the $26 billion bill to help Israelis and Palestinians was mentioned the package.
“And Hugh, I’ll tell you what I did, and I think I’m breaking news here, but I’m not,” Johnson continued. “No one knows this. But I immediately called the White House and spoke to Jake Sullivan. [Secretary of State] Tony Blinken was overseas at the time. ”
“I’m very hopeful that they won’t go ahead with it. If they do, we’ll intervene.”
The State Department’s announcement comes in the wake of reports that the International Criminal Court is considering bringing war crimes charges against Israeli leaders for their role in the war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
“Our position on this investigation is clear,” Patel said. “We continue to believe that the ICC has no jurisdiction over the situation in Palestine.”
The Israeli embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment.
