‘They’re terrified of the possible results’: US considers cutting funds to notorious Israeli army unit
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.
The body of Omar Assad at his funeral
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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.
Mraweh Mahmoud demonstrates how a Netzah Yehuda soldier pointed a gun at his head
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”.
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Netzah Yehuda has a fearsome reputation
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.
Netzah Yehuda mixes soldiering with religion
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.
Netzah Yehuda has been linked to human rights abuses
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.
Ori Givati from the NGO Breaking the Silence
‘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.”
World
Controversial aid distributer claims Hamas has carried out deadly attack on bus carrying Palestinians
The controversial US and Israeli-backed aid distributor in Gaza has accused Hamas of a deadly attack on a bus carrying Palestinians working with the organisation.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has said at least five aid workers were killed and it fears some team members “may have been taken hostage”.
The aid organisation also said multiple people were injured in the alleged attack.
In a statement, the GHF has said the bus was carrying more than two dozen people working with the organisation when it was targeted at 10pm Gaza time (8pm UK time) on Wednesday.
The GHF said those in the bus were “local Palestinians” working with the organisation to “deliver critical aid”.
“At the time of the attack, our team was en route to one of our distribution centres in the area west of Khan Younis”, the GHF added.
It continued in its statement: “We are still gathering facts, but what we know is devastating: there are at least five fatalities, multiple injuries, and fear that some of our team members may have been taken hostage.
“We condemn this heinous and deliberate attack in the strongest possible terms. These were aid workers.”
The GHF also said in its statement that Hamas has in recent days been threatening members of the organisation, including aid workers, and civilians who have been receiving the aid.
The organisation said it holds Hamas fully responsible for “taking the lives of our dedicated workers who have been distributing humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people at the foundation’s sites in central and southern Gaza”.
“Tonight, the world must see this for what it is: an attack on humanity. We call on the international community to immediately condemn Hamas for this unprovoked attack and continued threat against our people simply trying to feed the Palestinian people,” the GHF said.
“We will release additional information once it becomes available. Despite this heinous attack, we will continue our mission to provide critical aid to the people of Gaza.”
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From 10 June: The deadly road to Gaza aid point
The alleged attack came hours after health officials in Gaza said at least 25 Palestinians were killed by Israeli gunfire at a GHF site close to the former settlement of Netzarim, near Gaza City.
Medical officials at Shifa and al Quds hospitals say the people were killed as they approached the site.
Gaza’s health ministry said earlier this week that around 160 people have been killed in shootings near aid sites run by the GHF since they began distributing aid on 26 May.
However, the GHF has said there has been no violence in or around the distribution centres themselves.
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From 3 June: Shots fired as aid distributed in Gaza
Why is the aid system controversial?
Israel and the US have said the GHF system is aimed at preventing Hamas from siphoning off assistance.
Israel has not provided any evidence of systematic diversion, and the UN denies it has occurred.
The foundation’s distribution of aid has been marred by chaos, and multiple witnesses have said Israeli troops fired on crowds near the delivery sites.
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UN agencies and major aid groups have refused to work with the new system, saying it violates humanitarian principles because it allows Israel to control who receives aid and forces people to relocate to distribution sites, risking yet more mass displacement in the territory.
Jake Wood, a former US marine, resigned as head of the GHF in May before it began distributing aid in Gaza over concerns about is independence.
Mr Wood said the foundation cannot adhere to the “humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence, which I will not abandon”.
As the first light breaks across a quiet beach near Dunkirk, a human tide begins to move.
Dozens of migrants, many with children, rush across the sand toward the water’s edge.
French police are present, but they do not intervene.
For many of these men, women, and children, this moment marks the final chapter of a journey that began months ago, fleeing war, persecution, and economic collapse in countries as far afield as Iran, Eritrea, and Sudan.
Now, they face the potentially deadly crossing to the UK in a flimsy inflatable boat.
We watched as one vessel emerged from an inland waterway already crowded with people.
The vessel is soon dangerously overloaded.
Floating haphazardly, a baby is yanked onto the boat, as they yell out for more people to climb aboard.
Despite the dinghy taking on water – scooped out with a shoe – the crossing continues.
On the shore, police officers stood by, watching.
When I asked why no attempt was made to intervene, one officer said: “It’s for their safety.
“There are children there. We’re not going to throw grenades at them. It’s inhumane. But it’s sad.”
French police protocol, along with international law, makes such interventions legally and morally complex once boats are afloat – especially when families are involved.
Despite millions spent by the UK government to curb these crossings, the numbers continue to rise.
As of the latest count, almost 15,000 people have already made the perilous journey across the Channel this year. Many more are expected this summer as the weather window widens.
In the makeshift camps near Dunkirk, migrants wait their turn for the smugglers to signal that conditions are right.
Ali Reza told us he fled Iran after converting to Christianity. He dreams of reaching Britain, where he hopes to claim asylum.
He said: “Britain is good and accepts refugees. It has good behaviour for refugees.
“I think I’ll get a good welcome. Many Iranian people go to Britain. There’s good behaviour.”
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Back on the beach, not everyone manages to get aboard. The boat taxi service is in high demand.
Among the group, a woman from Eritrea spoke with me briefly.
Although she missed today’s crossing, she vowed to try again later in the week.
At least 25 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli gunfire at a US-backed humanitarian aid site in Gaza, according to health officials.
Medical officials at Shifa and al Quds hospitals say the people were killed as they approached the site – operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
Dozens more were injured at the scene close to the former settlement of Netzarim, near Gaza City, medical officials from the Hamas-run territory added.
It comes just a day after Gaza health officials said 17 people were killed close to another GHF site in Rafah, southern Gaza.
Health officials said at least another six people were killed by Israeli gunfire as they approached a GHF site in Rafah on Wednesday.
Ten other people were also killed on Wednesday by Israeli strikes in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, according to officials.
The Israeli military said its forces fired warning shots towards suspects who were advancing and which it claimed posed a threat to the troops in the area of Netzarim.
“This is despite warnings that the area is an active combat zone. The IDF is aware of reports regarding individuals injured. The details are under review,” it added.
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A total of 163 people have been killed and more than 1,000 wounded trying to reach the handful of aid sites operated by the GHF since it began work two weeks ago after a three-month blockade, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry.
It comes as the US ambassador to Israel said he does not think an independent Palestinian state remains a foreign policy for the Trump administration.
Mike Huckabee’s comments to Bloomberg News prompted the White House to say he spoke for himself.
When asked if a Palestinian state remains a US goal, Mr Huckabee said: “I don’t think so.”
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The deadly road to reach aid in Gaza
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Asked about Mr Huckabee’s comments, the White House referred to remarks earlier this year by Donald Trump when he pledged an American takeover of Gaza – a proposal which was condemned globally.
Rights groups, Arab states, Palestinians and the UN said such a move amounted to “ethnic cleansing”.
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