U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to within days announce sanctions against the Israel Defense Forces “Netzah Yehuda” battalion for human rights violations in the occupied West Bank, three U.S. sources with knowledge of the issue told Axios.

Why it matters: It would be the first time the U.S. imposed sanctions on an Israeli military unit.

A U.S. official said Blinken’s determination about the Netzah Yehuda unit is based on incidents that occurred before the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel and all took place in the West Bank.

Flashback: The Netzah Yehuda battalion was formed as a special unit for ultra-orthodox soldiers. All of its members are men.

• Over the years, the unit stationed in the West Bank became a destination for many “Hilltop Youth” — young radical right wing settlers who weren’t accepted into any other combat unit in the IDF.

• The U.S. State Department started investigating the Netzah Yehuda battalion in late 2022 after its soldiers were involved in several incidents of violence against Palestinian civilians, Haaretz reported at the time.

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