US sanctions ex-IDF soldier convicted of killing wounded Palestinian stabber in 2016
Visa ban on Elor Azaria, who served 9 months of 18-month prison sentence, comes months after US backtracked on sanctioning IDF battalion over alleged rights abuses in West Bank
Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
The US State Department on Wednesday announced that it has sanctioned former IDF Sgt. Elor Azaria, who in 2016 shot dead an incapacitated Palestinian attacker in the West Bank city of Hebron.
Azaria was convicted by a military court of killing the already-subdued attacker, who had stabbed an Israeli soldier, and served nine months of an 18-month prison sentence. Under the sanctions, he will be “generally” barred from entry into the US along with his immediate family members,
“We are designating Elor Azaria… for his involvement in a gross violation of human rights, namely an extrajudicial killing in the West Bank,” the State Department said in a statement.
The Biden administration began sanctioning Israeli extremists earlier this year with visa bans and financial restrictions upon determining that Jerusalem wasn’t doing enough to reign in violent settlers who regularly target Palestinians, Israeli peace activists and even Israeli security forces with overwhelming impunity.
However, Wednesday’s announcement appeared to be the first time it sanctioned an Israeli citizen using 2020 legislation that allows the secretary of state to bar entry to foreign government officials who have been involved in “gross violation of human rights” or “significant corruption.”
The State Department said Azaria met the definition of a foreign government official as a former IDF sergeant. He was demoted to private as part of his conviction.
The 2016 incident revealed deep divisions in Israeli society over the army’s activities in the West Bank, with some — mostly on the right — arguing Azaria behaved heroically in killing the Palestinian assailant, while others said he had broken the law and deserved a harsher sentence than he received.
Several months after his release he said in an interview that he had no regrets about the incident and he has gone on to protest in support of soldiers accused of beating Palestinian suspects.
Asked later Wednesday why the step was taken against Azaria eight years after the crime, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said the US has been conducting a review of violent acts in the West Bank amid the uptick of settler attacks in the territory since the Hamas-led October 7 attack that started the war in Gaza.
Upon determining his actions constituted a a gross violation of human rights, the US was legally required to impose a visa ban, Miller claimed. It was not clear whether the US has previously used the law to target someone as low-level as Azaria in another country, but the decision came as the Democratic administration continues to come under pressure from progressives to hold the IDF accountable for alleged rights abuses against Palestinians.
Wednesday’s announcement came roughly three months after the Biden administration moved to sanction the IDF’s Netzah Yehuda Battalion for alleged human rights violations against Palestinians in the West Bank.
The US then backtracked after the plan was leaked several days in advance amid uproar from Israel. The State Department claimed that it was extending its probe into the unit upon receiving new evidence that reforms were implemented to address the problems in Netzah Yehuda.
Blinken’s office has continued to regularly receive queries from reporters who have demanded to know why the US isn’t following through with its plan to sanction the controversial Israeli unit, and Wednesday’s announcement appeared aimed at demonstrating that the administration is still acting against Israeli soldiers who have committed rights abuses. It is only one visa ban, however, and it is unclear whether this will satisfy critics.
In Israel, National Unity chair Benny Gantz slammed the US announcement as “interference” with the Israeli justice system.
“The State of Israel has an independent, robust judicial system that is both capable and willing to punish under Israeli law. There is no reason why the US State Department should impose sanctions against Israeli civilians,” Gantz tweeted.
“Such is the case with Elor Azaria that was investigated, tried in court, convicted while serving in the IDF and ultimately held accountable, like in other cases,” Gantz added. “I want to convey to our American friends – there is no justification to interfere in Israel’s internal legal processes.”
In Wednesday’s announcement, the State Department said that it was separately imposing visa restrictions on an additional group of unnamed individuals involved in carrying out attacks in the West Bank.
These entry bans were issued under an order signed by Blinken in December, which was the first move directed at violent settlers. The individuals designated under this particular sanction are not publicized, though.
The US went further in February when US President Joe Biden signed an executive order that allowed for more far-reaching financial sanctions to be imposed against Israeli extremists.
The US has announced five batches of these sanctions, targeting five entities and three individuals in the latest round last week.
But the State Department made a mistake with one of the individuals targeted, accidentally designating an individual with an almost identical name as the Israeli extremist it intended to sanction. On Monday, it fixed the error after an uninvolved Israeli found his assets frozen.
Miller said Wednesday that 11 individuals and 11 entities have been sanctioned through the Biden executive order and dozens of settlers have been hit with visa bans through the act signed by Blinken.
“Promoting accountability and justice for any crimes, violations and abuses committed against Palestinians and against Israelis are essential to stable, just and an enduring peace in the region,” Miller said.
“We again call on the government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority to hold accountable those responsible for violence in the West Bank and we reiterate that we will continue to impose our own accountability measures as necessary,” he added.
As for whether these types of sanctions have been effective, Miller pointed to what he said has been the uproar from those targeted along with their supporters.
