Blinken Blinks: US Won't Sanction IDF Unit After All

The Biden administration has determined that three military battalions with the Israel Defense Forces committed "gross human rights violations" against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank but will remain eligible for U.S. military aid regardless because of steps Israel says it's taking to address the problem, ABC News has learned.

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The administration assessment, which has not yet been made public and could change if Israel doesn't take specific steps, was outlined in an undated letter by Secretary of State Antony Blinken to House Speaker Mike Johnson obtained by ABC News.

The U.S. determination "will not delay the delivery of any U.S. assistance and Israel will be able to receive the full amount appropriated by Congress," Blinken wrote.

Ed Morrissey

I'd bet that this was either part of the deal that Johnson got in exchange for moving the aid bill, or a White House concession to Mitch McConnell for facilitating it. The former seems more likely. At any rate, it's absurd to impose this finding on Israel while the US supplies aid to much more unsavory regimes that barely bother on human rights at all, such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and so on. Such sanctions are not the act of an ally. 

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