Israeli leaders criticize expected US sanctions against military unit that could further strain ties

JERUSALEM (AP) – Israeli leaders are harshly criticizing an expected decision by the U.S. to impose sanctions on a unit of ultra-Orthodox soldiers in the Israeli military.

The decision, expected as soon as Monday, would mark the first time the U.S. has ever imposed sanctions on a unit inside the Israeli military.

FILE – Mourners carry the body of Omar Assad, during his funeral in the West Bank village of Jiljiliya, north of Ramallah, Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022. Israeli leaders on Sunday, April 21, 2024, harshly criticized an expected decision by the U.S. to impose sanctions on a unit of ultra-Orthodox soldiers in the Israeli military. The unit came under heavy American criticism in 2022 after the elderly Palestinian-American man was found dead shortly after he was detained at a West Bank checkpoint. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser, File)

It also further strains relations between the allies that have grown grown increasingly tense during Israel’s war in Gaza.

The move is especially surprising given the close ties between the two armies, which train together and share research and intelligence with one another.

Israeli leaders condemned the decision as unfair, especially at a time when Israel is at war, and vowed to oppose it.

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