The U.S. State Department said Wednesday that it was taking steps to promote accountability in the West Bank and had placed travel sanctions on a former Israel Defense Forces sergeant for an extrajudicial killing in the West Bank.
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement that Elor Azaria, the IDF sergeant, and any of his immediate family members were “generally ineligible for entry in the U.S.”
Azaria was convicted in 2017 of fatally shooting a 21-year-old Palestinian man accused of attacking another Israeli soldier with a knife. Abdel Fattah al-Sharif was wounded and immobilized when Azaria shot him in the head, video showed at the time.
Azaria received an 18-month prison sentence but served only nine months.
“Promoting accountability and justice for any crimes, violations and abuses committed against Palestinians and Israelis is essential to a stable, just and enduring calm in the West Bank and the region,” Miller said in the statement.
Miller said the State Department was also taking steps to impose visa restrictions on an additional group of people for having been involved in or having meaningfully contributed to "undermining the peace, security or stability in the West Bank.”
Miller said visa restrictions for the group were being pursued because they had used “violence against persons or property, or unduly restricted civilians’ access to essential services and basic necessities to include access to food, water, electricity and medical supplies.” The group’s family members may also be subjected to visa restrictions, Miller said.
Israeli opposition lawmaker Benny Gantz took exception to the State Department’s stance.
“There is no justification to interfere in Israel’s internal legal processes,” he said.
Israel “has an independent, robust judicial system that is both capable and willing to punish under Israeli law,” he added.
Gantz said Azaria was “investigated, tried in court, convicted while serving in the IDF and ultimately held accountable.”
