US Approves Military Aid for Israeli Unit Connected to Detainee’s Fatal Incident

The U.S. government has approved foreign military assistance to be directed towards an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) unit that was involved in the 2022 death of a Palestinian-American individual.

Deputy U.S. State Department spokesman Vedant Patel confirmed during an Aug. 12 press briefing that U.S. assistance can indeed support the IDF’s Netzah Yehuda battalion after a thorough review process that lasted several months.

By the end of April, the State Department announced the identification of five Israeli units responsible for past “gross violations of human rights,” with four of them having already taken adequate corrective actions.

Further evaluation was needed for the fifth unit, the Netzah Yehuda battalion, to assess the Israeli government’s remedial efforts.

Patel stated on Aug. 12 that the assessment process for the Netzah Yehuda battalion has been ongoing since April, and following a comprehensive review, it was determined that the unit had successfully addressed the violations.

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The Israel military created the Netzah Yehuda battalion in 1999 as a specialized unit to accommodate the religious requirements of members of the Haredi Jewish community.

Over time, the unit and some of its personnel have been associated with mistreatment of civilians.

A group of Netzah Yehuda soldiers detained 78-year-old Palestinian-American Omar Assad at a checkpoint near the West Bank village of Jiljilya on Jan. 12, 2022.

Assad suffered a heart attack and passed away sometime after being detained by the Israeli soldiers, sparking allegations of misconduct by his captors.

The IDF acknowledged that its soldiers restrained and silenced Assad before taking him to the courtyard of a nearby structure along with other Palestinians.

The detainees were held by Netzah Yehuda members for approximately an hour before being released from their restraints.

The military concluded that the soldiers believed Assad was asleep when they untied him, leaving him in that state without attempting to wake him.

It was only hours later that the soldiers noticed Assad had passed away.

In its statement, the IDF stated that the Netzah Yehuda soldiers did not use violence against Assad, except during his initial detention.

However, the military asserted that the soldiers involved “failed in their duties by leaving Assad on the ground without necessary treatment and without reporting the incident to their superiors.”

The company and platoon commanders connected to Assad’s death were reprimanded by the IDF and prohibited from holding command positions for two years.

On Aug. 12, Patel confirmed that two Netzah Yehuda soldiers have left the unit and are no longer part of the Israeli military’s reserve component.

Patel noted that the battalion has improved its screening process for recruits and conducted a seminar addressing the unit’s past behavior over a two-week period.

When asked about the potential prosecution of Netzah Yehuda soldiers in relation to Assad’s death and other misconduct allegations, Patel commented that it was a matter for the Israeli justice system, not the United States.

The Epoch Times reached out to the IDF for additional comments but did not receive a response at the time of publication.