Tolerating Terrorism

Under the Leahy Law, US military aid cannot be given “to units of foreign security forces where there is credible information implicating that unit in the commission of gross violations of human rights (GVHR).”

There are decades of documented terrorist attacks and war crimes by groups within Israel, such as the Haganah, Stern Gang, and Irgun. Members of these terrorist groups eventually formed the official state military, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Names changed, but the terror roots remained.

In late April 2024, the US Government discussed imposing sanctions on one of the Israeli battalions in the West Bank known as Netzah Yehuda. This particular battalion only has males, and are of the Ultra-Orthodox ilk. It was previously known as Nahal Haredi.

According to a complaint submitted by Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) in November 2022:

“Between 2015 and 2022, the battalion has been involved in a number of grave incidents involving abuses of Palestinian civilians, including shooting and killing unarmed civilians, torture, physical assault, beating, and sexual assault, in violation of international human rights law and international humanitarian law.”

Vile acts such as these by Israeli soldiers are sometimes celebrated in Israeli society, as illustrated by reactions and comments in certain Telegram channels like 72 Virgins – Uncensored. Thus, one can’t reasonably expect Israel to hold its soldiers accountable for war crimes and human rights violations, nor take corrective steps (i.e. remediation). It certainly can’t be trusted to investigate itself; that would be a conflict of interest.

After reports of possible US sanctions against Netzah Yehuda surfaced, Israeli officials were naturally upset. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was angry. Even Israel-loyal US officials like House Speaker Mike Johnson threatened the White House with intervention.

So what happened? The US State Department succumbed to the pressure and decided to hold off on sanctions against this terrorist group. Even if they had gone through with it, it would largely have been symbolic, as these are just a few bad apples in a rotten bunch. Still, by backtracking on even these miniscule sanctions, the US government showed its weakness, not to mention its tolerance for terrorism against Palestinians.