U.S. won't sanction Israel unit for human rights violations in West Bank

Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke on Friday with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and informed him that he had decided to end the investigation into the Israel Defenses Force's "Netzah Yehuda" battalion for human rights violations in the occupied West Bank and not impose sanctions on the unit, according to two senior U.S. and Israeli officials.

It's a significant diplomatic achievement for Gallant, who in recent months has had quiet talks with Blinken and other senior U.S. officials in an effort to demonstrate the IDF has taken steps to address human rights violations by members of the battalion.

If sanctions were imposed on the Netzah Yehuda battalion, it would have been an unprecedented move on the part of the Biden administration, and potentially damaged the IDF and relations between Israel and the United States.A 1997 law authored by then-Senator Patrick Leahy prohibits U.S. foreign aid and Defense Department training programs from going to foreign security, military and police units credibly alleged to have committed human rights violations.

he U.S. official said the IDF provided the U.S. evidence that the two soldiers who were involved in the most significant incident investigated were discharged from combat missions and would not be called for reserve service.The IDF told the U.S. that the criminal investigation against them didn't materialize because Palestinian witnesses refused to testify.The incidents occurred before the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel and all took place in the occupied West Bank.