US Hints At Sanctioning Israeli Unit for Alleged Human Rights Violations
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken hinted at such steps when asked by a reporter in Italy about reports that his department had recommended cuts in military aid to an Israeli unit involved in violent incidents in the West Bank.
The United States appears close to sanctioning an Israeli military unit over alleged human rights violations in the West Bank, a move the Israeli prime minister angrily denounced as “the height of absurdity.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken hinted at such steps when asked by a reporter in Italy about reports that his department had recommended cuts in military aid to an Israeli unit involved in violent incidents in the West Bank.
The allegations precede the deadly October 7 attacks by Hamas on southern Israel.
Blinken, without providing details, said his department was conducting investigations under a law that prohibits sending military aid to foreign security units that violate human rights with impunity.
He then added:
“I think it’s fair to say that you’ll see results very soon.
I’ve made determinations; you can expect to see them in the days ahead.”
In late 2022, the State Department directed embassy staff in Israel to investigate alleged abuses in the West Bank by the army’s ultra-Orthodox Netzach Yehuda battalion.
That included a January 2022 incident when a 78-year-old Palestinian American died of a heart attack after being detained.
Although the allegations precede the Hamas attacks and Israel’s retaliatory war in Gaza, the suggestion of any sanctions against Israeli forces drew an angry response from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“In recent weeks, I have been working against the imposition of sanctions on Israeli citizens, including in my conversations with senior American government officials,” he posted late Saturday on social media platform X.
“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. The government headed by me will act by all means against these moves.”
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant similarly slammed the possibility of sanctions, after discussing the issue with army chief Herzi Halevi.
“The commanders and troops of the Netzach Yehuda battalion operate on the frontline since the outbreak of the war,
they have been working to push Hezbollah forces from the northern border, to thwart terrorism in Judea and Samaria.
And most recently, they are operating to dismantle Hamas brigades in Gaza,” he said, adding that they were operating in line with international law and the Israeli military’s values.
He urged Washington “to withdraw its intention to impose sanctions” on the battalion.
The Axios website, citing three US sources with knowledge of the matter,
Reported Saturday that Blinken was expected to announce sanctions against the battalion “within days.”
It said the sanctions would ban the unit from receiving any US military aid or training.
An earlier report from ProPublica said a special State Department panel had recommended in December that Blinken disqualify several military and police units serving in the West Bank from receiving any US aid.
The latest developments came even as the US House of Representatives
on Saturday overwhelmingly approved a bill to provide $26 billion in new emergency aid to Israel.
US Americans’ emotional reactions to the war
In the U.S., 62% of Jews and 53% of Muslims report that hearing or reading news about the Israel-Hamas war makes them afraid.
In other religious and nonreligious groups, the share expressing fear is lower.
Jews are also more likely than other U.S. religious groups to say news about the conflict makes them feel angry.
American Jews and Muslims are also paying more attention to the war than other groups analysed,
with 61% of Jews and 41% of Muslims saying they’re following it extremely or very closely.
Do Americans think Biden is striking the right balance?
U.S. public opinion is deeply divided and to a large extent uncertain about whether President Joe Biden is striking the right balance in his approach to the war (21%),
favouring the Israelis too much (22%) or favouring the Palestinians too much (16%).
The largest single slice of the public –40% – is not sure how well Biden is handling the issue.
While these views are broadly similar to what we found in a December 2023 Pew Research Centre survey, opinion among those under 30 has shifted.
In the February survey, 36% of those ages 18 to 29 say Biden is favouring Israel too much, up from 27% just a few months ago
Americans’ views on a long-term resolution to the war
One of the few opinions a solid majority of Americans can agree on when it comes to the Israel-Hamas war is that lasting peace is unlikely.
Only 3% say it is either extremely or very likely, while 9% say it’s somewhat likely.
Fully 68% say a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians is either not too or not at all likely.
Opinion is somewhat more mixed when it comes to the best possible outcome of the conflict.
A plurality (40%) says the best outcome would be a two-state solution splitting the land into two countries,
one with an Israeli government and one with a Palestinian government.
But many Americans remain unsure of the best outcome (30%),
and some prefer a model in which all the land is one country with an Israeli government (14%)
or one country that is jointly governed by Israelis and Palestinians (13%).
Few prefer the land to be one country with a Palestinian government (2%).
Jewish Americans (46%) and Muslim Americans (41%) also tend to think a two-state solution is the best possible outcome,
but about one-in-five people in each group support a one-state option.
Among Jews, 22% would prefer for all the land to be one country with an Israeli government.
Among Muslims, 20% would like all the land to be under a Palestinian government.
Overall, Americans’ support for a two-state solution has increased modestly since 2022, from 35% to 40%.
Much of the shift has come among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents.
Today, 48% of Democrats favour a two-state solution, up from 36% in 2022.
Indeed, this shift has opened up a partisan gap in views of the two-state solution that was not present in 2022.
Among Republicans, the two-state solution is endorsed by 33%,
while 26% think the best outcome would be for a single country, with an Israeli government, to control all the land.
