JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he would fight against sanctions being imposed on any Israeli military units after media reported that Washington was planning such a step against a battalion for alleged rights violations.
On Saturday, Axios news site reported that Washington was planning to impose sanctions on Israel’s Netzah Yehuda battalion that has operated in the occupied West Bank. The Israeli military said it was not aware of any measures being taken.
“If anyone thinks they can impose sanctions on a unit of the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) — I will fight it with all my strength,” Netanyahu said in a statement.
The Israeli military said that Netzah Yehuda battalion is an active combat unit that operates according to the principles of international law.
“Following publications about sanctions against the battalion, the IDF is not aware of the issue. If a decision is made on the matter it will be reviewed. The IDF works and will continue to work to investigate any unusual event in a practical manner and according to law,” the military said.
Israeli PM Netanyahu says he will fight any sanctions on army battalions
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Israeli PM Netanyahu says he will fight any sanctions on army battalions
- On Saturday, Axios news site reported that Washington was planning to impose sanctions on Israel’s Netzah Yehuda battalion
- “If anyone thinks they can impose sanctions on a unit of the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) — I will fight it with all my strength,” Netanyahu said
Israeli forces arrest jewel thieves posing as soldiers in West Bank
- The suspects had arrived in the Palestinian town “in a vehicle resembling a security vehicle”
- Abu Alan said the individuals were arrested about an hour later and that the stolen items were recovered
JERUSALEM: Israeli forces arrested two Israelis and a Palestinian on Tuesday after they allegedly posed as soldiers to rob a jewelry shop in the occupied West Bank, the military and police said.
Officers arrested the suspects “while they were allegedly fleeing the scene of an armed robbery carried out at a jewelry store in the town of Dahariya” in the territory’s south, Israeli police said in a statement.
It added that the suspects had arrived in the Palestinian town “in a vehicle resembling a security vehicle, including emergency lights, while wearing (Israeli military)-style uniforms, protective vests, helmets, and carrying firearms.”
Dahariya mayor Akram Abu Alan told AFP that at around 10:30 am (0830 GMT), a group of individuals “got out of a vehicle wearing Israeli army uniforms and carrying weapons.”
“Posing as soldiers, they stormed a gold shop, stole large quantities of gold, threatened civilians, and damaged parts of the shop,” he said.
Abu Alan said the individuals were arrested about an hour later and that the stolen items were recovered.
The suspects were picked up in a joint operation involving Israeli police, border police and military forces after being located in the town of Samu’a, near the West Bank’s southern border with Israel, the police said.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967.
The police said the three suspects were Bedouins from southern Israel, while the military in a separate statement said they were “a Palestinian and two Israeli civilians.”
Bedouins are a semi-nomadic Arab people who, among other places, live in Israel and the West Bank, and therefore are sometimes Palestinian and sometimes Israeli citizens.
