US expected to sanction Israeli military unit, further straining relations
Cairo: Hani Kamal El-Din
Jerusalem: Israeli leaders sharply criticized the expected US decision to impose sanctions on a unit of ultra-Orthodox soldiers in the Israeli army.
The decision, expected on Monday (US time), would mark the first time the United States has imposed sanctions on a unit within the Israeli military and further strains relations between the two allies, which have increasingly become increasingly tense during Israel’s war in Gaza. .
Members of the Israeli security forces scuffle with a Palestinian at a checkpoint near the Lion Gate to enter the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound before Friday noon prayers in Jerusalem.Credit: getty
While U.S. officials declined to identify the sanctioned unit, Israeli leaders and local media identified it as Netzah Yehuda, an infantry battalion founded about a quarter-century ago to recruit ultra-Orthodox men into the military. Many religious people receive exemptions from what is supposed to be obligatory service.
Israeli leaders condemned the decision as unfair, especially at a time when Israel is at war, and vowed to oppose it.
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