Tel Aviv: Amid reports of Washington planning to impose sanctions on Israeli military units for alleged rights violations, the Israeli Prime Minister on Sunday, April 21, said that he would 'fight with all his strength' against those.

"If anyone thinks they can impose sanctions on a unit of the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) - I will fight it with all my strength," PM Netanyahu said in a statement.

Citing Axios News agency Reuters reported that the United States is planning to impose fresh sanctions on Israel's Netzah Yehuda battalion, which has operated in the occupied West Bank, though the Israeli military said it was 'not aware' of any such measures.

"Following publications about sanctions against the battalion, the IDF is not aware of the issue. If a decision is made on the matter it will be reviewed. The IDF works and will continue to work to investigate any unusual event in a practical manner and according to law," the military said.

Following this, the Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz said that he spoke with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and rugged him to reconsider the matter.

Gantz said that any sanctions would be a mistake because they would harm Israel's legitimacy during the time of war, stating them to be unjustified as Israel has an independent justice system and a military that keeps international law.  

Meanwhile, Blinken on Friday said that he had made "determinations" regarding accusations of Israel violating a set of US laws that prohibits providing military assistance to individuals or security force units that commit gross violations of human rights.

The toll in West Bank and Gaza is on a surge. However, the incidents that were the subject of the allegations were mostly before the October 7 war between Israel and Gaza. 

(Inputs from Reuters)