US clears aid to Israeli unit accused of mistreating Palestinians in West Bank

An Israeli military unit accused of mistreating Palestinians in the occupied West Bank has addressed rights violations within its ranks and is cleared to continue receiving US military aid, the State Department said on Friday following a probe.

Washington called for the probe after Israeli soldiers from the Netzah Yehuda unit were accused of involvement in the 2022 death of a 78-year-old Palestinian-American, Omar Assad, who died of a heart attack after being detained in the West Bank.

Assad’s body was found abandoned at a building site, with a plastic zip tie around one wrist. The Israeli military has said soldiers temporarily gagged Assad – who had a history of heart problems – with a strip cloth and cuffed his hands with a zip tie because of his refusal to cooperate.

Netzah Yehuda’s battalion commander was reprimanded and two officers were dismissed, but Israeli military prosecutors decided against pursuing criminal charges because they said there was no link between the errors made by soldiers and Assad’s death.

In a statement on Friday, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said the department in April concluded that four Israeli units other than Netzah Yehuda had remediated violations within their ranks.

The department had continued its review of Netzah Yehuda to evaluate new information provided by Israel’s government, Miller said.

“After thoroughly reviewing that information, we have determined that violations by this unit have also been effectively remediated,” Miller said.

“Consistent with the Leahy process, this unit can continue receiving security assistance from the United States of America.”

The Leahy Laws, authored by US Senator Patrick Leahy in the late 1990s, prohibit providing military assistance to individuals or security force units that commit gross violations of human rights and have not been brought to justice.

Israeli media had previously reported that Washington would impose sanctions on Netzah Yehuda over its treatment of Palestinians. Miller made no mention of any sanctions considerations.

Reports of potential sanctions drew outrage from Israeli leaders including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said he would fight against it “with all my strength.”

The Netzah Yehuda battalion was set up in 1999 to accommodate the religious beliefs of ultra-Orthodox Jews and other religious nationalist recruits in the army.

Palestinians have expressed skepticism that the US would take any action against the battalion, and whether potential sanctions would have any impact on military behavior.