Far-right MK: Netzah Yehuda battalion should get the Israel Prize — not sanctions

Far-right MK Avi Maoz blasts a reported US plan to sanction the IDF’s Netzah Yehuda battalion and calls on Israel to instead award the prestigious Israel Prize to the ultra-Orthodox battalion ” in recognition of their work for Israel’s security.”

“As the father of a son who served in the Netzah Yehuda battalion on a regular basis, including five months of reserve duty in Judea and Samaria from the outbreak of the Gaza War, I am filled with contempt for those who want to impose sanctions on this wonderful battalion,” he writes on X, formerly Twitter.

The MK’s comments come after the Axios news site reported that the Biden administration is planning to announce sanctions against the battalion for alleged human rights abuses against Palestinians in the West Bank.

“To impose sanctions on Netzah Yehuda is to sanction all IDF soldiers,” he charges.

The battalion has been at the center of several controversies in the past connected to right-wing extremism and violence against Palestinians, including the 2022 death of Omar As’ad, a 78-year-old Palestinian-American who died after being detained, handcuffed, blindfolded, and later abandoned in near-freezing conditions by soldiers of the battalion.