The drive into the village of Jiljiliya is not what you expect on the West Bank. Imposing mansions line the route, with grand gates and lavish decorations.

That’s because this is where Palestinian Americans return to build their dream homes after years of hard work in the land of opportunity.

Like Omar Assad who came back after 45 years in Milwaukee. But for him, retirement was neither long nor happy. It was cut brutally short one freezing night in January 2022.

Middle East latest: Israel to receive billions from massive US aid package

He was returning from a game of cards when he was stopped at a makeshift checkpoint set up by the notorious Israeli army unit, Netzah Yehuda.

The IDF says he did not cooperate so the 78-year-old was detained with force.

Mraweh Mahmoud was with him.

“They took us down from the car and pushed me by the head,” he told Sky News. “The soldier was standing there and put an M16 in my head and said now I’ll shoot you.”

Mr Assad was tied up, gagged and blindfolded, Mr Mahmoud said, and forced to lie next to him. When the soldiers eventually left Mr Mahmoud realised Mr Assad was dead.

“I took his jacket off his head, I checked there’s no pulse, I shouted Omar, Omar,” he said.

Palestinian doctors say Mr Assad died in freezing temperatures of a stress-induced heart attack. An Israeli military report condemned the soldiers’ “moral failure and poor decision-making”.

Read more:
UN human rights chief ‘horrified’ over Gaza mass graves report
Israel bulldozed mass graves at Gaza hospital, Sky News analysis shows
Israeli intelligence chief quits over 7 October attack

No link between death and soldiers’ errors, military prosecutors say

Netzah Yehuda’s battalion commander was reprimanded and two officers were dismissed but Israeli military prosecutors decided against pursuing criminal charges because they said there was no link between the errors made by soldiers and Mr Assad’s death.

But now the unit the soldiers came from is expected to be singled out by the US government and cut off from American funding, in the first-ever such move against any part of the Israeli military.

Reports claim the US State Department will apply the so-called Leahy Law against the unit, which prohibits US assistance to foreign military units guilty of gross human rights violations when their government fails to take sufficient action.

Why has Netzah Yehuda become infamous?

The Netzah Yehuda battalion was set up to help ultra-orthodox Jews serve in the army. It mixes religion and soldiering. But in its ranks are also elements of extremist settler groups.

It has become infamous, implicated in one case of alleged abuse of Palestinians after another, many of which its soldiers have filmed on their own phones. Its soldiers have been prosecuted for human rights violations and accused of unlawful killings, electrocution, torture and sexual assault.

Israel’s government has fought a rearguard action against the looming US action.

Its prime minister called the prospect absurd and its defence minister Yoav Galant showed solidarity with the battalion’s soldiers this week saying “no one in the world can teach us about morals and values”.

But one organisation of ex-soldiers opposed to Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories says the Israeli government knows this could be just the beginning of action against its military.

‘They’re terrified of the possible results’

Ori Givati from the NGO Breaking the Silence told Sky News: “They understand that this might open the Pandora’s box of what the occupation really is, and how it looks like to occupy millions with the military.

“And if that Pandora’s box will be opened and it is starting to open in recent months, I think they’re terrified of the possible results because they want to continue to occupy.”

Back in Jilijilya, Mr Assad’s family welcomes reports America will act against the soldiers they blame for his death but say that’s not enough – they want them brought to justice too.

Nazmia, Mr Assad’s widow, said: “God willing it will be good if they do this, but also punish them like what they did with him, arrest them and fire them from their positions.”

TikTok has promised a court battle over a new law that threatens to ban it in the US – with the app’s boss saying “we aren’t going anywhere”.

President Joe Biden approved the law that states the platform will be blocked if its Chinese owner, ByteDance, does not sell it within nine months.

US politicians are worried the company could share user data with the Chinese government, despite repeated assurances from TikTok that it would not.

The bill was approved by the Senate on Tuesday as part of a $95bn (£76.2bn) aid package for Ukraine and Israel.

Mr Biden signed it off early on Wednesday – with TikTok’s boss swiftly hitting back in a video on the platform.

“Rest assured, we aren’t going anywhere. The facts and the Constitution are on our side and we expect to prevail again,” said chief executive Shou Zi Chew.

A statement by the company added: “This unconstitutional law is a TikTok ban, and we will challenge it in court.

“We believe the facts and the law are clearly on our side, and we will ultimately prevail.”

The legal challenge could argue a ban would deprive the app’s 170 million US users of their First Amendment rights to freedom of speech.

The law could also face opposition from TikTok creators who rely on it for their income, while China has previously said it would oppose a forced sale.

Why is TikTok facing a US ban?

Arthi Nachiappan

Technology correspondent

Attracting around 170 million US users in seven years, TikTok has taken America by storm. But there have long been concerns in Washington about the China-based ownership of the social media platform.

Beijing-based tech firm ByteDance originally launched the Chinese version of the app called Douyin, meaning “shaking sound”, in 2016. They followed up with an international version – TikTok – in November 2017.

Since then, the platform has had a meteoric rise. Fuelled by its popularity among Gen-Z, it has become an influential social media platform. But it has become a target for both sides of the political spectrum in Washington, as well as in other Western countries, due to fears over the use of user data.

Politicians and officials in the US have expressed concerns that Chinese authorities could force ByteDance to hand over US user data. TikTok has said it has never done that and would not do so if asked. There are also fears over influence on Americans by suppressing or promoting certain content on TikTok.

The use of TikTok by the federal government’s nearly four million employees on devices owned by its agencies is already banned in the US, with limited exceptions for law enforcement, national security and security research purposes. A similar ban is also in place for civil servants in the UK.

India was the first country to ban TikTok in 2020 following a violent clash on the India-China border that left at least 20 Indian soldiers dead. Interestingly, TikTok is also not available in app stores in China – where the internet is tightly controlled by the state – and Douyin is used instead.

Last month, TikTok’s chief executive appealed to US users directly to stop the bill forcing the app’s sale and accused lawmakers in the US of attempting to shut down the platform. In a video posted on the platform, Shou Zi Chew told users the bill “will lead to a ban of TikTok in the United States”, adding: “Even the bill’s sponsors admit that’s their goal.”

The use of TikTok by the federal government’s nearly four million employees on devices owned by its agencies is already banned in the US.

However, there are limited exceptions for law enforcement, national security and security research purposes.

Read more from Sky News:
What does bill mean – and could same happen in the UK?
How ‘TikTok idiots’ are disrupting police investigations
TikTok CEO appeals to users to oppose potential US ban

Follow Sky News on WhatsApp

Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News

Tap here

Senate commerce committee chair Maria Cantwell said the move to force TikTok’s sale was not aimed at “punishing” ByteDance, TikTok, or other companies.

“Congress is acting to prevent foreign adversaries from conducting espionage, surveillance, maligned operations, harming vulnerable Americans, our servicemen and women, and our US government personnel,” she said.

Only two months ago Joe Biden joined the social media platform TikTok with a video captioned “lol hey guys”. Now, the US president is poised to sign a bill that could ban the popular app – unless its parent company sells it.

The country is concerned that TikTok’s owner, Beijing-based tech firm ByteDance, could be forced by Chinese authorities to hand over the user data of almost 170 million American app users.

On this episode, Niall Paterson unpicks the possible ban with Arthi Nachiappan, our technology correspondent. Plus, Chris Stokel-Walker, author of TikTok Boom: China’s Dynamite App And The Superpower Race For Social Media, joins Niall to discuss the app’s impact in the US – as well as China’s influence on technology.

Since recording this episode, TikTok CEO Shou Chew said in a statement: “This unconstitutional law is a TikTok ban, and we will challenge it in court. We believe the facts and the law are clearly on our side, and we will ultimately prevail.

“As we continue to challenge this unconstitutional ban, we will continue investing and innovating to ensure TikTok remains a space where Americans of all walks of life can safely come to share their experiences, find joy, and be inspired.”

👉 Listen above then tap here to follow the Sky News Daily wherever you get your podcasts 👈

Producer: Emma Rae Woodhouse
Promotions producer: David Chipakupaku
Editor: Paul Stanworth