US expected to sanction IDF over human rights violations in West Bank

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00:00 The motions between Israel and its strongest ally, the US.

00:04 On one hand, the House of Representatives has passed a crucial aid bill that will provide

00:08 billions to Israel.

00:10 But amid concerns over human rights violations in the West Bank, including the death of eight-year-old

00:15 Palestinian-American Omar Assad in 2022, who died after he was handcuffed and gagged in

00:21 the custody of the Netza Yehuda battalion, the US is expected to sanction the IDF for

00:26 the first time.

00:28 ProPublica reported that a special State Department panel recommended months ago that Antony Blinken

00:33 disqualify multiple Israeli military and police units from receiving US aid, leading Benjamin

00:39 Netanyahu to come to the defense of his army.

00:42 Sanctions must not be imposed on the Israel Defense Forces.

00:46 In recent weeks, I have been working against the imposition of sanctions on Israeli citizens,

00:51 including in my conversations with senior American government officials.

00:54 At a time when our soldiers are fighting the monsters of terror, the intention to impose

00:58 a sanction on a unit in the IDF is the height of absurdity and a moral low.

01:04 The government headed by me will act by all means against these moves.

01:08 Questioned over the matter in Italy, Antony Blinken says he's been consulting with the

01:12 panel.

01:13 It's something that takes time, that has to be done very carefully, both in collecting

01:18 the facts and analyzing them.

01:20 And that's exactly what we've done.

01:23 And I think it's fair to say that you'll see results very soon.

01:28 I've made determinations, you can expect to see them in the days ahead.

01:31 The Netzer Yehuda Battalion was formed as a special unit for ultra-Orthodox soldiers.

01:36 Over the years, the unit stationed in the West Bank became a destination for many young

01:41 right-wing settlers who weren't accepted into other combat units in the IDF.

01:46 The US State Department started investigating the battalion in 2022, after its soldiers

01:51 were involved in several incidents of violence against Palestinian citizens, including Assad.

01:55 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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