04-22-2024, 08:23 PM
Since January at least, Israeli newspaper editorials have been buzzing about the breakdown of IDF discipline in Gaza, disrupting the chain of
command as religious zealots turn combat missions into "free fire zones" of personal revenge and petition their command for less restraint.
But things are out of hand on the West Bank too. Or, better said, they been out of hand for some time, but now the US can't look the other way.
Likkud member Tally Gotliv has accused the whole United States of "anti-semitism" in response to impending sanctions on the Netzh Yehuda battalion. Another lesson in how such terms get weaponized.
What is Israel’s Netzah Yehuda battalion, and why could it face U.S. aid cuts?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/04/22/leahy-law-israel-sanctions-what-to-know/
Israel has lashed out at plans by the United States to impose aid restrictions on an ultra-Orthodox Israeli military unit known as the Netzah Yehuda battalion for alleged human rights abuses in the occupied West Bank. . . . 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.
US mulling sanctions against other IDF units for alleged rights violations
https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-mulling-sanctions-against-other-idf-units-for-alleged-rights-violations-sources/
AIn the case of Netzah Yehuda, the IDF in December 2022 decided to move the infantry unit largely comprised of ultra-Orthodox nationalists out of the West Bank so they would no longer be in contact with Palestinians. But no steps were taken to hold specific soldiers accountable for the repeated incidents of misconduct against Palestinians that ran rampant in Netzah Yehuda, a US official said, explaining the unprecedented decision to move ahead with sanctioning an Israeli military unit.
Instead of Sanctioning a Rogue Battalion, the U.S. Should Focus on Netanyahu and His Ministers
https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-04-22/ty-article/.premium/instead-of-sanctioning-a-rogue-battalion-the-u-s-should-focus-on-netanyahus-government/0000018f-0507-d6a0-a9ef-c59f68d90000
...That means that some of its operations in the West Bank are rogue, outside the boundaries of the law. That means the unit either doesn't carry out orders, disobeys the chain of command, or has a parallel chain of political command made of rabbis – whether ultra-Orthodox or religious-Zionist – in Israeli settlements. Any other interpretation is putting lipstick on a pig....
Another rocket scientist who works for Netanyahu, Tally Gotliv, a hybrid of Marjorie Taylor-Greene and Lauren Boebert but without their natural charm, bested Smotrich with her usual style and grace. Please take a moment to read this one carefully: "Who are you, the United States of America, to dare impose sanctions on the ultra-Orthodox battalion Netzah Yehuda? This is contemporary antisemitism!"
Gotliv then offered a painful lament: "I am sick and tired of U.S. control over Israel and these clear threats against us. … The U.S. is treading on Israel in a sophisticated way, a pat and then a slap on the cheek again and again." The gut-wrenching dramatic line was saved for last: "I refuse to be a battered country!" said the woman who made a career as a lawyer defending accused rapists.
Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter kept it laconic and sharp: "Step down," he instructed the United States. War cabinet member Benny Gantz, who was the defense minister when the Americans began investigating the matter, surely thought he was reassuring the nation by saying that "I'll talk to Tony [Blinken] and convince him."
command as religious zealots turn combat missions into "free fire zones" of personal revenge and petition their command for less restraint.
But things are out of hand on the West Bank too. Or, better said, they been out of hand for some time, but now the US can't look the other way.
Likkud member Tally Gotliv has accused the whole United States of "anti-semitism" in response to impending sanctions on the Netzh Yehuda battalion. Another lesson in how such terms get weaponized.
What is Israel’s Netzah Yehuda battalion, and why could it face U.S. aid cuts?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/04/22/leahy-law-israel-sanctions-what-to-know/
Israel has lashed out at plans by the United States to impose aid restrictions on an ultra-Orthodox Israeli military unit known as the Netzah Yehuda battalion for alleged human rights abuses in the occupied West Bank. . . . 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.
US mulling sanctions against other IDF units for alleged rights violations
https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-mulling-sanctions-against-other-idf-units-for-alleged-rights-violations-sources/
AIn the case of Netzah Yehuda, the IDF in December 2022 decided to move the infantry unit largely comprised of ultra-Orthodox nationalists out of the West Bank so they would no longer be in contact with Palestinians. But no steps were taken to hold specific soldiers accountable for the repeated incidents of misconduct against Palestinians that ran rampant in Netzah Yehuda, a US official said, explaining the unprecedented decision to move ahead with sanctioning an Israeli military unit.
Instead of Sanctioning a Rogue Battalion, the U.S. Should Focus on Netanyahu and His Ministers
https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-04-22/ty-article/.premium/instead-of-sanctioning-a-rogue-battalion-the-u-s-should-focus-on-netanyahus-government/0000018f-0507-d6a0-a9ef-c59f68d90000
...That means that some of its operations in the West Bank are rogue, outside the boundaries of the law. That means the unit either doesn't carry out orders, disobeys the chain of command, or has a parallel chain of political command made of rabbis – whether ultra-Orthodox or religious-Zionist – in Israeli settlements. Any other interpretation is putting lipstick on a pig....
Another rocket scientist who works for Netanyahu, Tally Gotliv, a hybrid of Marjorie Taylor-Greene and Lauren Boebert but without their natural charm, bested Smotrich with her usual style and grace. Please take a moment to read this one carefully: "Who are you, the United States of America, to dare impose sanctions on the ultra-Orthodox battalion Netzah Yehuda? This is contemporary antisemitism!"
Gotliv then offered a painful lament: "I am sick and tired of U.S. control over Israel and these clear threats against us. … The U.S. is treading on Israel in a sophisticated way, a pat and then a slap on the cheek again and again." The gut-wrenching dramatic line was saved for last: "I refuse to be a battered country!" said the woman who made a career as a lawyer defending accused rapists.
Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter kept it laconic and sharp: "Step down," he instructed the United States. War cabinet member Benny Gantz, who was the defense minister when the Americans began investigating the matter, surely thought he was reassuring the nation by saying that "I'll talk to Tony [Blinken] and convince him."
![[Image: 4CV0TeR.png]](https://i.imgur.com/4CV0TeR.png)
