What was the Nezak Judah Battalion in the Israeli Army? Will America impose sanctions on this?

Members of the Nezak Yehudah unit of the Israeli army live and serve under strict, religious rules. There are reports that the US is considering imposing sanctions on this battalion. However, Israeli leaders are outraged by the unconfirmed reports.

The Axios News website said that the US is going to take this decision because of the human rights violations taking place in West Bank.

If true, this would be the first time the US has imposed sanctions on an Israeli army unit.

Israel’s military said on Sunday it had no information on reports of US sanctions against the Nezak Yehudah Battalion. The unit declared that it was working in accordance with international laws.

“If America takes such a decision, we will review it,” the Israeli army said. It said that if any unusual incident takes place, it will be investigated in the normal manner as per the law.

American sources say that if the American government imposes sanctions on Nezak Judah, this unit will not receive any help or training from the American army.

In recent months, anger has been growing across the country that Haredi Jews are being drafted into the military and kept out of military service, just like the rest of Israel’s citizens.

In Israel, people are required to serve in the army, three years for men and two years for women.

The Israel Public Broadcasting Corporation said officials told them that Washington had repeatedly asked Israel to disclose what happened in an investigation into attacks by the Nezak Yehudah Battalion on Palestinians.

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said US sanctions on an Israeli army unit set a “dangerous precedent”. If America is taking such a decision, he called the American Foreign Minister Antony Blinken and asked him to reconsider it.

Gantz said that Israel is currently at war and imposing sanctions on an army unit at a time like this would “damage Israel’s image”.

“It is not fair to impose restrictions on such things as army units operate within the bounds of international law,” he said.

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Givir has called for the confiscation of Palestinian Authority funds and giving them to Israel instead of imposing US sanctions.

He asked the Prime Minister to “make a plan to impose strict sanctions on Palestinian banks”.

Ben Gvir said any sanctions would “benefit the Palestinian Authority, Israel’s enemy.”

He said in February that he wanted to start a Haredi battalion in the Border Security Force. He said that youth who practice Sanatana Dharma should be recruited in the National Force on par with serving in the army.

War Cabinet Minister Gadi Eisenkot said the ban on the Nezak Yehudah Battalion was a “doctrine mistake”.

“This is complete madness, an attempt to impose a separate Palestinian state on us,” said Israeli Finance Minister Bezlal Smotrich.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid accused the Israeli army and military commanders of becoming victims of the illegal policies and political failures of the Netanyahu government. “The idea of ​​imposing sanctions on the Nezak Eudbrigade is a big mistake. Do not make such a mistake,” he said strongly.

Israel Labor Party President Merav Michaeli has called for the complete elimination of the Nezak Judah Brigade. He said that this battalion has been known for years of violent activities and corruption.

Many Haredi Jews oppose military service. Because they spend most of their time studying the Torah (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible). Apart from that religious texts are read. That’s why they want to stay away from the military, said Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, chief of Haredi Jews.

Nahal Haredi started a non-profit organization in 1999 with Haredi rabbis as members.

They asked the Ministry of Defense and the Israeli army to recruit Haredi youth who did not study in religious institutions into the army. For this they have worked together with the Army and the Ministry of Defence.

This cooperation led to the formation of the Netza Yehuda Battalion in the army. It included thousands of Haredi Jews as soldiers.

“Haredi youth are holding high positions in the Israeli army by adhering to their policies and regulations without compromising their way of life. We are looking to implement this,” said The Nahal Haredi Organization.

In 1999, “Nahl Haredi”, “Netza Yehuda” or “Battalion 97” was formed for the first time with 30 Haredi soldiers. The institution’s journey, which first began with the civil services, later continued to introduce haredim into the military.

The Israeli army formed the first Haredi combat forces and deployed them in Ramallah and Jenin. In 2019, the Hebrew news magazine Yodiot Ahranoth published articles that the Israeli army decided to send the Nezak Yehuda Battalion to Ramallah and Jenin.

An Israeli army spokesman said for the first time that the Netza Yehuda battalion was being sent to Jenin for “operational observation” after the magazine’s reports of “consecutive failures”.

From December 2022, members of the Nezak Yehudah Battalion were considered separate from the Israeli army. The government sent the soldiers to the West Bank despite the army’s opposition to sending them to the West Bank due to the behavior of the soldiers in this battalion.

Since then this battalion has been operating in northern Israel.

The battalion jumped into the Gaza battlefield earlier this year, according to the Jerusalem Post.

Former Israeli army commander Aviv Kochavi said the Fir Brigade, which is part of the Nezak Yehudah Battalion, can fight in Lebanon and Syria in addition to Gaza.

There are currently over a thousand soldiers in the Nezak Yehudah battalion either training or fighting on the battlefield.

Soldiers in this battalion serve two years and eight months in the Israeli army.

Soldiers in this battalion do not interact with female soldiers as much as they do with male soldiers. Despite being in the army, they devote as much time as necessary to prayer and the study of religious scriptures, The Times of Israel said.

Members of the Nezak Judah Brigade are accused of killing a 79-year-old Palestinian-American while arresting Omar Assad near a checkpoint. Assad’s family members say the soldiers handcuffed him, gagged him and threw him to the ground. He was found dead after falling on the ground.

“It was a moral failure of the troops, a mistake in decision making. A man’s decency has been seriously injured”. The comments came after an Israeli military investigation into Assad’s death.

After this incident, Nezak withdrew Judah’s forces. The commander of that unit and the army commander were removed. A criminal investigation has been ordered against the soldiers who are believed to be responsible for this incident. But it ended without reaching a conclusion.

In 2022, the American State Department launched an investigation into allegations that soldiers serving in the Nezak Judah Battalion were involved in several violent attacks on Palestinian civilians. A Haaretz newspaper article revealed that this included the death of Omar Assad.

The US imposed three rounds of sanctions on some Jewish settlers for their attacks on Palestinians after Israel went to war on the Gaza Strip on October 7.

According to the US State Department, the Leahy Act allows the US government to stop aid to any foreign government found guilty of human rights violations.

According to the US Department of Defense, aid and training programs provided to the respective countries’ armies may also be banned.

U.S. aid could be reinstated if the perpetrators of human rights violations are punished according to the law.

The US State Department says the Leahy Act applies to “any unit of a foreign security force where there is verifiable information that it has committed human rights violations.”

Human rights can be investigated in political, security and other matters

Officials sent by the U.S. government can inquire about rights violations and examine classified documents.

The American government considers torture, murder, kidnapping, and legalization of rape as violations of human rights.

Where such crimes are proven, the Leahy Act can be enforced.

The legislation is known as the Leahey Act after Senator Patrick Leahey, who signed it in late 1990.