House Speaker Mike Johnson has threatened to intervene if President Biden imposes sanctions on an Israeli military battalion over alleged misconduct in the West Bank. Speaking to conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, Johnson said he had contacted White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan and received written assurances that the sanctions would not affect funding for Israel and that the administration would be judicious in its approach.
The Biden administration is reportedly considering sanctions on the Netzah Yehuda battalion, a unit largely comprised of ultra-Orthodox nationalist Jews, following incidents leading up to Hamas’ October 2022 attack on Israel, including the arrest and subsequent death of a Palestinian American man.
The possible sanctions have drawn criticism from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli government, who have urged the State Department to reconsider. Netanyahu has said he will fight “with all my powers” against any sanctions on the IDF.
Johnson said he had heard a rumor about the possible sanctions before the House voted on an aid bill for Israel on Saturday and that he had immediately contacted the White House. He said Sullivan had sent him an email committing that the sanctions would not affect any of the funding that was being worked on to assist Israel.
“The issue seems to have been resolved, and I am very hopeful that they won’t try to proceed on that,” Johnson said. “If they do, we’ll intervene.”
An investigation by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) found that the death of the Palestinian American man was “a grave and unfortunate event, resulting from a moral failure and poor decision-making on the part of the soldiers” who failed to check his condition after he lost consciousness.
Blinken said last week that he had made “determinations” on sanctions against the battalion and teased an announcement “very soon.”
