The U.S. on Wednesday introduced visa restrictions on former Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Sgt. Elor Azaria “for his involvement in a gross violation of human rights in the occupied West Bank.”
“Azaria and any immediate family members are generally ineligible for entry into the United States,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller instructed reporters.
The U.S. can be “taking steps to impose visa restrictions on an additional group of individuals who have used violence against persons or property or unduly restricted civilian access to essential services and basic necessities,” stated Miller.
“As we have said on a number of occasions, promoting accountability and justice for any crime, violation and abuses committed against Palestinians, and against Israelis are essential to stable, just an enduring peace in the region. We once again call on the government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority to hold accountable those responsible for violence in the West Bank,” he stated. “And we reiterate that we’ll proceed to impose our personal accountability measures as mandatory.
The announcement got here after the U.S. sanctioned three people and 5 entities final week for violence in opposition to civilians within the occupied West Bank.
Azaria shot a Palestinian within the head after an alleged assault within the West Bank metropolis of Hebron in 2016 though the sufferer was injured and unarmed.
The soldier was caught on digicam by an activist with the Israeli rights group, B’Tselem, capturing lifeless the Palestinian.
Azaria was sentenced to 18 months in jail after he was discovered responsible of the killing.
But in September 2017, his sentence was lowered by Israeli Army Chief-of-Staff Gadi Eizenkot to 14 months.
Source: www.anews.com.tr