US imposes visa restrictions on former IDF sergeant for human rights violation

By Jennifer Hansler, CNN

(CNN) — The Biden administration imposed visa restrictions on former Israel Defense Forces (IDF) sergeant Elor Azaria “for his involvement in a gross violation of human rights, namely an extrajudicial killing in the West Bank,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller announced Wednesday.

As a result of the action, Azaria and his immediate family will generally be blocked from coming to the United States.

The State Department is “also taking steps to impose visa restrictions on an additional group of individuals for having been involved in or meaningfully contributed to undermining the peace, security, or stability in the West Bank,” Miller said in a statement.

“Specifically, these visa restrictions are being pursued against those who have used violence against persons or property, or unduly restricted civilians’ access to essential services and basic necessities to include access to food, water, electricity, or medical supplies,” he said. “The immediate family members of these individuals may also be subject to these restrictions.”

The Biden administration has taken a series of punitive measures against those accused of perpetrating violence and human rights violations in the West Bank. Last week, the administration imposed its latest tranche of sanctions on an extremist organization and settlements in the Palestinian territory. US officials have called on the Netanyahu government to take further action to hold violent settlers accountable.

“There hasn’t been appropriate accountability across the board” in response to the violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, Miller said at a press briefing Wednesday. Miller added that it appeared the Israeli government was taking note of the measures, and had taken “some steps” to crack down on settler violence, but said they need to take further steps.

“Part of the point is not just to impose accountability on people who’ve engaged in acts of violence or people who’ve engaged in other acts that increase instability in the West Bank, it is also to let others know that we are paying attention and we are watching and we’re not going to hesitate to act,” Miller said.

However, the Biden administration has yet to make a decision on whether to restrict aid to one IDF battalion – Netzah Yehuda – which the US found to have committed gross violations of human rights prior to the start of the war in Gaza. A CNN investigation found that former commanders of that unit have been promoted to senior positions in the IDF and are now active in training Israeli ground troops as well as running operations in Gaza.

Azaria in 2016 was charged with manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a wounded Palestinian assailant. He was sentenced to 18 months in military prison in 2017.

A Palestinian, Abdel Fattah al-Sharif, 21, was one of two men accused of stabbing another Israeli soldier in the West Bank city of Hebron in March.

Charges were brought against Azaria after video footage emerged showing him shooting Sharif in the head as he lay on the ground, injured and already subdued. The second Palestinian suspect had already been shot dead.

At the State Department briefing Wednesday, Miller explained that the US is required to impose visa restrictions on officials found to have committed gross violations of human rights.

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