Why does this Israeli force annoy the United States?

Soldiers of the Yehuda Victory Battalion pray during an annual exercise near the Golan Heights on May 19, 2014. (AFP)

Huang Peizhao, a special correspondent of this newspaper in Egypt, and Zhen Xiang and Liu Zhi, special correspondents of this newspaper

A number of US media reported a few days ago that the US Government is preparing to sanction the "Yehuda Victory Camp" under the Israel Defense Forces on the grounds of violating the human rights of the Palestinian people in the West Bank. If officially announced, it would be the first time the U.S. government has sanctioned Israeli forces, which would prohibit the battalion and its members from receiving any form of U.S. military assistance or training, the Associated Press said. After the news was exposed, people from different political factions in Israel voiced their opposition, believing that this would further aggravate tensions between the United States and Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized the sanctions on the Israeli army on the 21st as "absurd", and he will do his best to prevent this from happening. Some analysts believe that the United States has put on a posture of trying to prevent the escalation of the situation in the Middle East, while continuing to promote military aid to Israel, highlighting its hypocritical features. The current situation in the Middle East is the result of the spillover effects of the escalation of the conflict in Gaza and the long-standing connivance of the United States in favor of Israel.

Netanyahu "turned face"

According to Reuters, Netanyahu said on the 21st local time that the US government's plan to sanction an Israeli army is "highly absurd". He will "do everything in his power to fight back" against sanctions against any unit of the Israeli army. Netanyahu praised the United States for its strong support for Israel the day before, but strongly condemned the United States the next day, a sharp shift in attitude that highlights the recent tensions between him and U.S. President Joe Biden.

According to a report by the Times of Israel on the 22nd, Israeli Defense Minister Gallant and wartime cabinet member Gantz spoke with US Secretary of State Blinken on the evening of the 21st local time. The Israeli side made it clear in the briefing that Gallant and Gantz contacted Blinken this time to persuade the Biden administration to abandon its plan to impose sanctions on the "Yehuda Victory Camp". However, the US briefing did not mention this. Gallant said on 21 August when discussing possible US sanctions with IDF Chief of Staff Halevi that "our friends and enemies are closely following the relationship between Israel and the United States, and they are now paying more attention than ever before."

Finance Minister Smotrich, a hard-line official on the far right of the Israeli government, said that the US government is "absolutely insane," and the Minister of National Security, Ben-Gvir, has threatened to push Israel to impose sanctions on the Palestinian National Authority. The Israeli military statement said that it was not aware of the sanctions for the time being, but that if the "Yehuda Victory Battalion" was indeed sanctioned, it "would assess the consequences." However, Israeli Labor Party leader Michael called for the disbandment of the "Yehuda Victory Camp" on social media, saying that the battalion soldiers killed Palestinians "without any reason".

Under the 1997 Leahy Act, the U.S. military sanctioned for human rights abuses is denied any form of U.S. assistance. The Times of Israel said on the 22nd that the actual impact of the US sanctions is limited, and the sanctions will prohibit Israel from using US military aid to buy weapons for the "Yehuda Victory Camp", but Israel can still use its own funds to equip it with weapons. However, the report quoted two American sources as saying that in addition to the "Yehuda Victory Camp", Washington is also considering imposing sanctions on other Israeli army and police forces suspected of violating the human rights of Palestinians.

An American was abused to death

Two U.S. government officials told the Associated Press on the 21st that the U.S. announced sanctions as early as the 22nd local time. A special team of the US State Department, which investigated allegations of "human rights violations" against Israeli forces under the Leahy Act, recommended that Blinken disqualify a number of Israeli military and police forces in the West Bank from receiving U.S. aid, according to ProPublica, a non-profit news company. According to the Associated Press, the US sanctions are based on the assessment before the outbreak of the current round of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and do not target the behavior of the "Yehuda Victory Camp" in the current round of the conflict.

According to the Times of India, the Yehuda Victory Battalion, which is part of the IDF's "Lion Cub Brigade", was established in 1999 as an all-male infantry battalion of ultra-Orthodox Jews and religious nationalists in Israel. Israel has a system of compulsory conscription, but only this force relies on the full voluntary enlistment of people of the Orthodox faith. At the same time, in order to maintain its "purity", the battalion enjoys special arrangements in terms of food, water supply, cleanliness and hygiene. The Yehuda Victory Battalion, which started with just over 30 people, now has more than 1,000 people and has been stationed in the West Bank for a long time.

Since 2010, one in five soldiers convicted of harming Palestinians or their property has come from the "Yehuda Victory Battalion," making it the unit with the highest conviction rate in such cases, citing the report as such. One of the biggest concerns was a case involving Americans in 2022. In January 2022, Omar al-Assad, an octogenarian Palestinian-American, died after being detained by soldiers of the "Yehuda Victory Camp". He was handcuffed, blindfolded, and abandoned outdoors in sub-zero temperatures for several hours before dying. The autopsy report said Omar al-Assad had underlying health problems but suffered a heart attack due to "external violence." After the incident was exposed, the US government strongly protested, and the Israeli army launched an investigation, but only punished three officers and did not demand that anyone bear criminal responsibility. The Israeli Ministry of Defence has since transferred the battalion to the Golan Heights, claiming that the transfer was "for the purpose of allowing troops to rotate the defense area and accumulate sufficient experience". After the outbreak of the current round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the "Yehuda Victory Battalion" also entered the Gaza Strip to fight.

"Israel is a strategic burden for the United States"

According to the Financial Times, the U.S. military actions in the West Bank are seen as one of the "major and deepening" points of disagreement between the two countries. The US sanctions against the "Yehuda Victory Camp" may only affect the supply of firearms, military vehicles and other equipment and the financial assistance of a private foundation, but the significance of the sanctions is that the US side has lost confidence in the Israeli army and its so-called "independent" judicial investigation system.

Al-Arabiya TV said that Israel really had a handle in the hands of the United States this time, so its troops should be sanctioned. At the same time, this is also a manifestation of the United States venting its dissatisfaction with Israel, because the recent development of the situation in Gaza is not what the United States wants, and Israel insists on escalating military action against Gaza and air strikes on Iran, and has not fully obeyed the instructions of the United States.

"Washington is playing a 'double game'", Russia's "Viewpoint" newspaper quoted Israeli international relations scholar Simon Zipis as saying on the 22nd that the Biden administration first provided Israel with a package of military aid, and then intended to impose sanctions on a unit of the Israeli army. This contradictory behavior is associated with the "double game" of American politicians. Clearly, Biden is trying to gain the support of Jewish and Muslim voters before the election.

"Israel is a strategic burden to the United States," according to the website of the US magazine "Foreign Policy," adding that the special relationship with Israel is almost useless to the United States, but has greatly weakened US strategic interests and often harmed the values that the United States promotes. The time has come to push for the "normalization" of relations between the United States and Israel. This is not about turning Israel into an enemy of the United States, but about treating Israel like any other foreign country, keeping your distance. The Biden administration now faces a choice between following Netanyahu all the way into the abyss or forcing him to change course. ▲