April 22 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Secretary of the United States Department of State, Antony Blinken, spoke this Sunday with the Israeli Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallant, and the 'number two' of the war cabinet, Benny Gantz, given the information that the ultra-Orthodox battalion , Netzah Yehuda, could be subject to sanctions for the alleged commission of acts constituting crimes against Human Rights against the Palestinian population in the West Bank.
Blinken has addressed “efforts to protect Israel's security and negotiations to secure the release of hostages, allow for an immediate ceasefire, and increase the flow of humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians in Gaza.” “He has also highlighted the importance of measures to de-escalate tensions in the region,” said the Secretary of State's spokesman, Matthew Miller.
The Israeli Army defended the work of Netzah Yehuda this Sunday, indicating that this battalion fights with “courage and professionalism, while preserving the values of the Army in accordance with International Law.” The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have warned that they “do not recognize the issue” of these sanctions, advanced by US sources to the Axios news portal, and have added that they will “examine” the issue when Washington makes the decision.
However, Gallant has spoken with the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Herzi Halevi, about ways to avoid the sanctions planned against the aforementioned battalion, thus instructing them to “act at all levels to make clear to the Government” of Joe Biden the ” importance of supporting IDF operations, which are carried out subject to International Law.”
“The commanders and troops of the battalion are operating on the front lines of the fighting, since the outbreak of the war, they have been working to drive away (the Lebanese Shiite militia party) Hezbollah on the northern border, to thwart the terrorist elements in Judea and Samaria (biblical name for the West Bank) and these days they are working to dismantle the Hamas brigades in the Strip, risking their lives,” he stated.
“I hope that the US Administration will retract its intention to impose sanctions on Netzah Yehuda. (…) Any attempt to vilify an entire unit casts a heavy shadow on the IDF's actions to protect the citizens of Israel and frustrate to terrorist elements,” he declared.
In this sense, he considered that this measure would set a “dangerous” precedent. “Damage to a battalion is damage to the entire defense system, that is not the way to behave with partners and friends,” he concluded, as reported by 'The Times of Israel' newspaper.
If announced, these sanctions would prevent members of this battalion from receiving military aid or training from the US Army. Blinken, in particular, has singled out the ultra-Orthodox for fomenting the wave of violence against the Palestinian populations in the West Bank before the outbreak of the war with Hamas, on October 7.
