Sanctions on IDF?
Don’t lose sleep over it
THE United States is considering imposing sanctions on Netzah Yehuda — a controversial battalion of the Israeli Defence Forces — for human rights violations, so reported news portal Axios on April 20. Given the US-Israel “ironclad” relations, that was classic breaking-news stuff. What is more, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement to the media recently — we have made a determination — appeared to confirm the impending sanctions. If true, this will be the first time Washington would be imposing such sanctions. Impunity-ridden Israel was furious on that Saturday and ever since. The fury, coming as it did from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, may have worked. Newspapers in Israel, Europe and the US were generously devoting their space to Netanyahu’s “we will do everything to stop it” promise. Israel ministers, too, had called on Washington to “step down”, with Netanyahu describing sanctions on any IDF units as a “height of absurdity and a moral low”. Guess who is talking of a moral low? But the threat seemed to have worked. Suddenly, news on sanctions that were imminent took a different narrative turn. The very same newspapers are saying Washington is still reviewing the alleged human rights violations. “Imminent” has taken an entirely new meaning. When it comes to Israel, American English trumps the British.
The world should not have rushed into feeling pleasantly surprised by Washington’s decision to impose sanctions on Israel. Can’t blame it for wanting to see justice dispensed equally to all, the mighty and meek. Many thought that the US had finally woken up to reality — Israel does commit human rights violations. True, the US has been giving mixed signals of late, which nations backing the Palestinian cause have interpreted as a parade of hypocrisy. Perhaps Washington is preparing the world for the delay in imposing its sanctions. Haaretz, the Israeli English news portal, is even venturing to suggest that the four or five IDF units might “have undergone proper remediation steps”, purportedly quoting a leaked letter of Blinken to US House Speaker Mike Johnson.
Will sanctions happen? It is hard to say — the Israel lobby, with more money than many nations’ coffers, is a power to be reckoned with — but what needs to be said is that it must happen if Washington wants to recover the trust of the international community. Not just Axios, but even Haaretz quoting US administration officials as saying that sanctions against Netzah Yehuda were on the way. This is not surprising as the controversial battalion has been involved in human rights violations for the longest time in the West Bank. But that isn’t the end of the sanctions story. Haaretz goes on to say that Washington is also considering measures against other Israeli military and police units. Three scenarios are possible. First, no sanctions but a reprimand as a face-saving measure. A VERY likely scenario given the power of the Israeli lobby. Second, a slap on Israel’s wrist to show the world that it is a rules-based nation. A surprise will be harsh sanctions, our third scenario. The mere fact that we are discussing the possibility of the US imposing sanctions on Israel shows that Gaza has changed geopolitics forever.
Guess who is talking of a moral low? But the threat seemed to have worked.