After being informed of a number of human rights violations committed against Israeli citizens in the West Bank before the Gaza conflict broke out in October, the US and Israel have been having heated discussions about whether to censure an IDF unit.
An ultra-Orthodox branch of the IDF called Netzah Yehuda was established to encourage Haredi Jews who are now exempt from military support to join Israel’s military forces. On April 20, it was revealed that the Biden presidency was thinking about approving a sanction for the system under the” Leahy Law.”
When there is reliable evidence that a product is “gross violations of human rights,” the US government is prohibited from providing funds to international security forces under this 1997 legislation.
However, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated in response to a string of exchanges between the US and Jewish governments:” We will work to identify a way to successful cleanup for this product.”
Since much before the start of the current conflicts with Hamas, the Netzah Yehuda regiment has been mired in wrongdoing disputes. However, a 2022 incident involving a former Milwaukee citizen who was Palestinian and an American has raised a specially offended level with Washington. In his West Bank town of Jiljilya, 80, Omar Assad, 80, died after being violently detained and stranded immediately on a development site close to a wooden Army station.
Assad, who is reported to have been gagged and bound when imprisoned, was reportedly indifferent when left by the Army men. The following day, he was discovered dying. A subsequent Arab examination revealed that Assad, who had a history of heart troubles, had experienced stress-induced respiratory arrest.
No lawful action was taken despite the IDF’s analysis and the discharge of two young officers from the unit. The US government is looking into allegations of human rights violations committed by Netzah Yehuda people against Israeli civilians, but this is just one more instance.
Ultra- Catholic product
Netzah Yehuda, previously Nahal Haredi, was established in 1999 as a female fight system with the aim of recruiting young Jews who had left ultra-Orthodox Jewish religious institutions. Fixed-term military support has been required for all Israeli Israelis since the State of Israel’s founding in May 1948. However, the ultra-Orthodox or Haredi society has traditionally been exempt from recruitment.
Netzah Yehuda aims to incorporate young Haredim into the IDF. By enlisting in this group, they are able to subscribe to their rigid religious views, one of which requires avoiding contact with women, who are also required to serve in the military. Netzah Yehuda’s volunteers come mainly from poor, downtrodden and marginalized backgrounds.
The so-called “hilltop youth” make up a significant portion of the Netzah Yehuda. These are second-generation inhabitants who were born and raised in the illegal settlements that are scattered throughout the occupied Palestinian territory. Instead of calling Israel their house, they call Judea and Samaria in the West Bank.
Ariel Sharon, the former prime minister, was in charge of the Jewish makes leaving Gaza in July 2005. The strip’s Jewish settlers ‘ communities were destroyed in parallel with this. More than 700, 000 inhabitants have been living illegally in the West Bank since finally. Various reports of violence and aggression against Palestinians there have been linked to hillside children.
One famous feature of this has come to be known as the “price- label policy.” It is also known as the arvut hadadit ( or “mutual responsibility” ) and is intended to deter the Israeli government from limiting settlement expansion or forcing settlers to leave their unauthorized outposts in the occupied territories. Fresh, politically motivated inhabitants attack Palestinians and vandalize their houses or holy sites, demanding a “price” for what they view as betraying.
The Netzah Yehuda fight unit’s shared philosophy and practice of marginalization from broader Jewish society tend to develop cohesion. The troops see themselves as being distinct from the broader Army attitude as a result of this.
Netzah Yehuda’s motto is: v’haya machanecha kadosh ( and your camp shall be holy ). The phrase is a quote from the Torah, which squad men actually mean when one captain stated to the Hebrew Maariv paper in 2017 that they are on a “holy goal.”
This contributes to a society in the West Bank that encourages unbridled violence against non-Jewish groups.
Targeted punishment
US restrictions may result in a moratorium on transferring US weapons or providing military aid to Netzah Yehuda in particular. It would not always contradict the US government’s usually- stated “ironclad commitment” to Jewish security.
The White House’s news that it was being considered came a day after the US Congress approved US$ 26 billion in military aid for Israel.
Sanctions may nevertheless deliver Israel and the rest of the world a powerful message. Washington would be the first to sanction the Army for breaking international humanitarian law.
The IDF has been willing to destroy a regiment that appears to operate as an independent army with little accountability to central command despite claiming to be” the most social army in the world.”
The prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and people of his government were furious when they learned that the US was considering imposing sanctions on an IDF system. I will use all of my force against anyone who thinks they may impose restrictions on an IDF system, according to Netanyahu.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, a part of the far- proper Otzma Yehudit ( Jewish Power ) group, said,” restrictions on our men is a dark line”. His partner, finance secretary Bezalel Smotrich, who supports the far-right Religious Zionist Party, claimed that imposing sanctions on an IDF product “while Israel is fighting for its existence is perfect lunacy.”
The IDF claims Netzah Yehuda “operates in accordance with the IDF Code of Ethics and with complete dedication to global law” and that it continues to “remain committed to examining remarkable incidents properly and according to law.”
Carlo Aldrovandi is Trinity College Dublin’s Assistant Professor of International Peace Studies.
This article was republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.