Israeli Army committed abuses in W. Bank: US
Netanyahu pledges Rafah incursion ‘with or without a deal’
Washington, Jerusalem, April 30: The United States has concluded that five Israeli security force units committed serious human rights violations against Palestinians in the West Bank before the Hamas attack in October, the State Department said on Monday.
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Tuesday to go ahead with a longpromised assault on Rafah, whatever the response by Hamas to the latest proposals for a halt to the fighting and a return of Israeli hostages.
Expectations that a truce deal could be in sight have grown in recent days following a renewed push led by Egypt to revive stalled negotiations between Israel and Hamas.
However, Netanyahu said that with or without a deal, Israel intended to pursue the operation.
Israel has taken remedial measures with four of these units, making US sanctions less likely. Consultations are under way with Israel over the fifth unit, State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters.
He declined to identify the units, give details of the abuse, or say what measures the Israeli government had taken.
A US official speaking on condition of anonymity said the fifth unit is part of the Army.
Press reports have identified a battalion called the Netzah Yehuda, composed mainly of ultra-orthodox Jews, as being accused of abuses.
It is about 1,000-strong and since 2022 has been stationed in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967.
“After a careful process, we found five Israeli units responsible for individual incidents of gross violations of human rights,” Patel said. All the incidents took place before the October 7 Hamas attack and were not in Gaza, he added. — Agencies