TEL AVIV, April 21(Sputnik) – Israel’s national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, warned the United States on Saturday that potential sanctions against the ultra-orthodox Netzah Yehuda battalion would be a «red line.»
«Sanctions against our soldiers is a red line! Minister [of Defense Yoav] Galant must immediately support Netzah Yehuda,» he wrote on social media.
US news website Axios reported on Saturday that Secretary of State Antony Blinken would announce sanctions against the Israel Defense Forces’ controversial unit in the coming days. The unit is reportedly considered the destination for young radical right-wing settlers from the West Bank who were not accepted into other IDF units.
The sanctions will ban the battalion and its members from receiving US military aid and training. They are based on human rights violations that were recorded in the West Bank before Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel.
