Israel has lashed out at plans by the United States to impose sanctions on an ultra-Orthodox Israeli military unit known as the Netzah Yehuda battalion for alleged human rights abuses in the occupied West Bank.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said over the weekend that such a move would be the “height of absurdity and a moral low,” at a time when his troops are battling Hamas in Gaza. Netanyahu vowed to “act by all means” to resist such a decision.
His response follows comments from U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday that he had made “determinations” about possible military aid cuts to Israel over alleged human rights violations under legislation known as the Leahy Laws.
At least 34,151 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Israel estimates that about 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack and says 260 soldiers have been killed since its military operation in Gaza began.
Here’s what to know about the Netzah Yehuda battalion.