Netanyahu denounces the US initiative to impose sanctions on Israeli army forces

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday (April 21) criticized a US proposal to impose sanctions on Netzah Yehuda, a unit of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), for alleged human rights abuses in the West Bank.

The US move came after the House of Representatives, or lower house of the US Congress, on Saturday (April 20) provided bipartisan support and passed a bill authorizing the Joe Biden administration to provide US$95 billion worth of military aid dollar to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan. .

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded enthusiastically as he thanked the US for its generosity. “The U.S. Congress has just overwhelmingly passed a highly acclaimed relief bill that demonstrates strong bipartisan support for Israel and defends Western civilization. Thank you friends, thank you America!” Netanyahu wrote on X, responding to the gesture.

‘US reaches moral low point’

However, a day later, the Israeli prime minister received a shock when the White House planned to impose sanctions on the Netzah Yehuda over its activities in the West Bank, a departure from its policy of targeting its longtime ally in the Middle East. supports. East.

The US move angered Prime Minister Netanyahu as he called the US move to impose sanctions on the IDF unit a “moral low point”. “Sanctions should not be imposed on the Israeli army!” Netanyahu wrote about

Netanyahu further called the move “the height of absurdity and a moral low point.” “At a time when our soldiers are fighting the monsters of terror, the intention to impose a sanction on a unit in the IDF is the height of absurdity and a moral low point,” Netanyahu wrote on X. Written in Hebrew.

US sanctions are the first of their kind

According to the Jerusalem Post, citing three US sources, Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to announce sanctions against the Netzah Yehuda, a battalion of the IDF, in the coming days, amid increasing pressure on Washington from inside and outside the country.

This is the first time the US will impose sanctions on an IDF unit composed mainly of Haredi men and extremist youth for their alleged human rights abuses in the West Bank, the report said.

US sanctions Israeli minister

The measure follows sanctions imposed by the Biden administration on Friday (April 19) on far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and two entities accused of raising money for Israelis accused of settler violence, according to Reuters. Washington has blamed them for the escalation of violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Ben-Gvir is also a settler in the West Bank.

The latest developments show a growing rift between the two allies, as the US government has warned Israel to exercise restraint in its war against the Palestinians.