US may not impose sanctions on Netzah Yehuda Battalion - report

The US is unlikely to impose sanctions on the Netzah Yehuda Battalion, at least not in the meantime, Ynet reported Wednesday afternoon, citing Israeli officials. 

However, Reuters foreign policy reporter Humeyra Pamuk reported on Wednesday afternoon that the sanctions are still set to be issued in the coming days, citing official sources.

The expected withdrawal from the plan to issue sanctions comes after intense pressure from Israeli leaders. The fact that Israeli leaders from across the political spectrum, from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Opposition leader Yair Lapid, expressed opposition to the planned sanctions pushed the US to take a step back from the pending decision, according to the report.

"The reasonable assessment is that we will be able to convince the Americans not to impose these sanctions," said several Israeli sources to Ynet.

A senior Israeli official told Ynet that the US was surprised by the harsh reactions from both Israeli politicians and the public in Israel to the planned sanctions. Israeli leaders reportedly promised US officials that the problematic incidents attributed to Netzah Yehuda would be dealt with.

In response to reports that the US intended to sanction Netzah Yehuda, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had said he would "fight with [this decision] all [his power]," calling it " the height of absurdity and a moral blow" in a statement published on X Saturday night.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid also said in a statement on X that the sanctions are a "mistake" and Israel "must act to cancel them."

Planned sanctions on Netzah Yehuda Battalion

On Friday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a press conference that he has made "determinations" on the issue of cutting military aid to specific Israeli army units accused of human rights violations in the West Bank before October 7.

Unnamed US officials told Israeli media on Saturday that Blinken would sanction the Netzah Yehuda Battalion.

The sources stated that the American sanctions would prohibit the transfer of US military aid to the Netzah Yehuda Battalion, will prevent its soldiers and officers from taking part in training with the United States military, and will prevent the soldiers from this unit from participating in activities that receive American funding.

The sanctions are based on a 1997 law by former Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy, which prohibits the United States from providing military aid or training to security forces, the military, or the police when there is reliable information about human rights abuses.

On Thursday, the American investigative website ProPublica reported that a special committee of the American State Department, which investigated allegations of human rights violations in the West Bank, forwarded recommendations a few months ago to Blinken to impose sanctions on several units of the IDF and the Israel Police and to prevent them from receiving American funding.

The Netzah Yehuda Battalion was originally established as a special military unit for haredim (ultra-orthodox), in which all of the soldiers and officers were men.

Over the years, in light of the low number of haredim who enlisted in the IDF, the unit also began to include extremist youth who held far-right positions and were not included in other combat units in the IDF.

Journalist Amos Harel reported in Haaretz in September 2022 that the US State Department began an investigation into the Netzah Yehuda Battalion following several incidents in which soldiers from the battalion were involved in violence against Palestinian civilians.

Barak Ravid contributed to this report.