U.S. May Sanction Controversial IDF Unit Netzah Yehuda—And Netanyahu Promises Fight

The U.S. is reportedly considering sanctions against the Netzah Yehuda, an Israeli Defense Force unit linked to violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday he would fight the sanctions “with all my strength”—joining liberal and conservative members of the Knesset in condemning the possible move shortly after the U.S. approved a $26 billion aid package for the Israeli military.

The State Department is expected to impose restrictions on the Netzah Yehuda Battalion, multiple outlets reported over the weekend, after a State Department committee determined they violated international human rights law.

The State Department would impose the sanctions using the Leahy Laws, which ban foreign military units or police forces from receiving U.S. aid if there is “credible information that such unit has committed a gross violation of human rights.”