The United States has determined that five Israeli units committed abuses against Palestinians in the West Bank before the Hamas attack in October, with four of them taking “remedial measures” that removed the prospect of US sanctions, it said Monday. the State Department.
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Consultations are continuing with the Israeli government regarding a fifth Israeli army unit in question, said Deputy State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel.
“After a careful process, we found five Israeli units responsible for individual acts amounting to gross human rights violations,” the spokesperson told reporters.
“All these events happened well before October 7 and none took place in Gaza,” he said.
“Four of these units have effectively remedied these violations, which we expect from our partners,” the official further indicated, stressing that with regard to the fifth unit, the Israeli government had “submitted” additional information to the Department of Defense. ‘State.
The official refused to identify these units or to specify what sanctions Israel had taken against them.
Press reports notably reported accusations against the “Netzah Yehuda” battalion, made up largely of ultra-Orthodox soldiers.
U.S. law prohibits the government from using funds or sending weapons to foreign security force units when there is credible information implicating them in human rights violations.
The Israeli army has been mobilized for more than six months against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, devastated by the conflict, and on the Lebanese border where exchanges of fire with pro-Iranian Hezbollah are almost daily.
