https://sputnikglobe.com/20240422/two-birds-with-one-stone-biden-targets-radical-idf-unit-with-sanctions-to-placate-his-voters-1118059494.html
‘Two Birds With One Stone’: Biden Targets Radical IDF Unit With Sanctions to Placate His Voters
‘Two Birds With One Stone’: Biden Targets Radical IDF Unit With Sanctions to Placate His Voters
Sputnik International
Sources told US and Israeli media over the weekend that the White House is planning to sanction the Israel Defense Forces’ controversial Netzah Yehuda (lit. ‘Judah’s Victory’) battalion over alleged human rights violations in the occupied West Bank. Sputnik asked Tel Aviv-based international relations observer Dr. Simon Tsipis what this means.
2024-04-22T15:15+0000
2024-04-22T15:15+0000
2024-04-22T15:21+0000
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Axios reported Saturday that Secretary of State Antony Blinken is planning to imminently announce sanctions against the IDF’s Netzah Yehuda battalion, with the measures expected to stop the battalion’s fighters from being able to receive US military assistance and training.Officials confirmed the looming sanctions to the Times of Israel, indicating on Monday that other Israeli military and police units accused of human rights abuses may also be targeted. However, one of Axios’s sources said others will not be affected after being probed and deemed to have “remedied their behavior” in unspecified ways.The US investigation into Netzah Yehuda goes back to before the current Palestinian-Israeli escalation, with the State Department starting a probe of the unit in December 2022 after troops were caught engaging in violence against Palestinian civilians. One such incident led to the death of a 78-year-old Palestinian-American man.Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant echoed Netanyahu’s sentiments, heaping praise on Netzah Yehuda and assuring that its soldiers operate “in accordance with the values of the IDF and in accordance with international law.”The Israeli military moved the Netzah Yehuda battalion – which consists mostly of ultra-Orthodox and hardcore Zionist forces, out of the West Bank and away from contact with the Palestinians in late 2022, but no actions were taken to punish members suspected of human rights abuses. Gallant said the unit has been used in Israel’s operation “to dismantle Hamas brigades in Gaza” after last fall’s escalation.It’s not clear what impact the sanctions will have. The US has donated tens of billions of dollars in military equipment to Israel (including $26 billion in a tranche approved by the House of Representatives on Saturday), and it’s unclear how Washington plans to keep track of weaponry to assure that it doesn’t fall into the Netzah Yehuda battalion's hands.‘Two Birds, One Stone’Netzah Yehuda is a distinct unit within Israel’s armed forces in that it’s made up almost entirely by radical Zionists, Dr. Simon Tsipis, a Tel Aviv-based international relations expert, told Sputnik, commenting on the US plans.These forces have “an aggressive attitude toward the Palestinians, and there have been many cases of the violation of the rules of war, aggression toward civilians who live around these Jewish settlements” in the West Bank, the observer explained, noting that this aggression stems from the fighters’ Zionist perspective that all Palestinians are “direct enemies.”In the first place, sanctions are designed “to create the appearance of punishing Israel,” he said, with Biden and the Democrats seeking desperately to regain “at least part of the Arab and Muslim vote” in the upcoming election amid the president’s plunge in the polls.The restrictions are not meant to weaken Israel’s military capabilities overall, Tsipis stressed, suggesting the decision to target Netzah Yehuda signals the Democrats’ displeasure with Netanyahu’s hard-right Zionist and religious right coalition.That’s not to say the sanctions will have no practical impact, Tsipis added, pointing to the “very deep” divisions inside Israel between supporters and opponents of the Netanyahu government, which he said are now so severe that Israel in some sense can no longer even be characterized as an integral state.Symbolically as well, the restrictions are significant, Tsipis says, because Zionist ideology is at the heart of Israeli statehood, which in a way makes the sanctions a blow against Israel’s ideological foundation.Netanyahu’s ability to respond will be limited, the observer believes, given the pressures he faces domestically. “Therefore I don’t think Israel can take any retaliatory measures. Even if it greatly desires to do so, Israel now has absolutely no levers of pressure against the Democrats so long as they remain in power. It will be another story if they lose power after the elections in the fall,” Dr. Tsipis summed up.
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is us going to sanction israel, what is the netzah yehuda battalion, are us-israeli relations strong
is us going to sanction israel, what is the netzah yehuda battalion, are us-israeli relations strong
‘Two Birds With One Stone’: Biden Targets Radical IDF Unit With Sanctions to Placate His Voters
15:15 GMT 22.04.2024 (Updated: 15:21 GMT 22.04.2024) Sources told US and Israeli media over the weekend that the White House is planning to sanction the Israel Defense Forces’ controversial Netzah Yehuda (lit. ‘Judah’s Victory’) battalion over alleged human rights violations in the occupied West Bank. Sputnik asked Tel Aviv-based international relations observer Dr. Simon Tsipis what this means.
Axios
reported Saturday that Secretary of State Antony Blinken is planning to imminently announce sanctions against the
IDF’s Netzah Yehuda battalion, with the measures expected to stop the battalion’s fighters from being able to receive US military assistance and training.
Officials confirmed the looming sanctions to the Times of Israel,
indicating on Monday that other Israeli military and police units accused of human rights abuses may also be targeted. However, one of Axios’s sources said others will not be affected after being probed and deemed to have “remedied their behavior” in unspecified ways.
The US investigation into Netzah Yehuda goes back to before the current Palestinian-Israeli escalation, with the State Department starting a probe of the unit in December 2022 after troops were caught engaging in violence against Palestinian civilians. One such incident led to the death of a 78-year-old Palestinian-American man.
“Sanctions must not be imposed on the Israel Defense Forces,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Saturday, assuring that his government would “act by all means against these moves.”
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant echoed Netanyahu’s sentiments, heaping praise on Netzah Yehuda and assuring that its soldiers operate “in accordance with the values of the IDF and in accordance with international law.”
Gallant warned that even if the infantry unit was the only one targeted by sanctions, it would cast “a heavy shadow on the actions of the IDF” and affect “the entire defense establishment.”
The Israeli military moved the Netzah Yehuda battalion – which consists mostly of ultra-Orthodox and hardcore Zionist forces, out of the West Bank and away from contact with the Palestinians in late 2022, but no actions were taken to punish members suspected of human rights abuses. Gallant said the unit has been used in Israel’s operation “to dismantle Hamas brigades in Gaza” after last fall’s escalation.
It’s not clear what impact the sanctions will have. The US has donated tens of billions of dollars in military equipment to Israel (including
$26 billion in a tranche approved by the House of Representatives on Saturday), and it’s unclear how Washington plans to keep track of weaponry to assure that it doesn’t fall into the Netzah Yehuda battalion's hands.
Netzah Yehuda is a distinct unit within Israel’s armed forces in that it’s made up almost entirely by radical Zionists, Dr. Simon Tsipis, a Tel Aviv-based international relations expert, told Sputnik, commenting on the US plans.
These forces have “an aggressive attitude toward the Palestinians, and there have been many cases of the violation of the rules of war, aggression toward civilians who live around these Jewish settlements” in the West Bank, the observer explained, noting that this aggression stems from the fighters’ Zionist perspective that all Palestinians are “direct enemies.”
As far as the US administration’s sanctions plans, “this is an attempt to kill two birds with one stone,” Tsipas believes.
In the first place, sanctions are designed “to create the appearance of punishing Israel,” he said, with Biden and the Democrats seeking desperately to regain “at least part of the Arab and Muslim vote” in the upcoming election amid the president’s
plunge in the polls.
The restrictions are not meant to weaken Israel’s military capabilities overall, Tsipis stressed, suggesting the decision to target Netzah Yehuda signals the Democrats’ displeasure with Netanyahu’s hard-right Zionist and religious right coalition.
“This is a blow to Zionism as an ideology, not an attempt to influence Israel so that it stops, suspends or is otherwise unable to continue its military operations in the Gaza Strip, or even the [potential] upcoming war with Iran,” the observer said.
That’s not to say the sanctions will have no practical impact, Tsipis added, pointing to the “very deep” divisions inside Israel between supporters and opponents of the Netanyahu government, which he said are now so severe that Israel in some sense can no longer even be characterized as an integral state.
“It would be more correct to ask whether this will affect the deterioration in ties between the United States and the Zionist movement, and the answer is yes…By striking a blow against the Zionist movement, which makes up half the [Israeli] government, pressure is indirectly being exerted from within on Benjamin Netanyahu.” Israel’s opposition forces will only welcome the sanctions, the observer said.
Symbolically as well, the restrictions are significant, Tsipis says, because Zionist ideology is at the heart of Israeli statehood, which in a way makes the sanctions a blow against Israel’s ideological foundation.
Netanyahu’s ability to respond will be limited, the observer believes, given the pressures he faces domestically. “Therefore I don’t think Israel can take any retaliatory measures. Even if it greatly desires to do so, Israel now has absolutely no levers of pressure against the Democrats so long as they remain in power. It will be another story if they lose power after the elections in the fall,” Dr. Tsipis summed up.
