"While our soldiers are fighting against terrorist monsters, the intention to impose sanctions on an IDF unit is the height of absurdity," Netanyahu tweeted, warning that his government will act to prevent such a move "by all means." The Axios news site reported Saturday, citing three US sources, that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken could announce sanctions "in a matter of days" against the IDF unit, which has been accused of human rights abuses in the occupied West Bank. Such sanctions would bar members of the Netzah Yehuda Battalion from receiving any US military assistance or training, under a 1997 law that conditions some Washington foreign aid on the human rights record of recipient units. The move has also drawn criticism from two far-right ministers in Netanyahu's coalition government: National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. "Sanctions on our soldiers are a red line," Ben Gvir tweeted, calling on Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to fully back the unit's troops. Smotrich, for his part, called the possible US move "utter madness," suggesting it was part of a plan to pressure Israel into accepting a Palestinian state. Defense Minister Benny Gantz, a member of the security cabinet, struck a less confrontational tone toward the US, tweeting his appreciation for Washington's support but stressing that the unit was "an integral part" of the IDF and operated in accordance with international law. The Netzah Yehuda Battalion has been under US investigation since 2022 over allegations of torture and extrajudicial killings. The occupied West Bank has seen its deadliest violence since the Second Intifada, or uprising, of 2000-2005, with at least 138 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire so far in 2023, most of them alleged militants or attackers but also civilians, including around 30 minors, according to an AFP tally. The army has stepped up near-daily raids in the West Bank since a wave of attacks inside Israel by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in October 2022 — which sparked the latest war in the Gaza Strip — and some 468 Palestinians have died in violence with Israeli troops or settlers since then. On Friday, the European Union imposed sanctions on four people and two organizations over alleged human rights violations in settlement expansion in the West Bank, and the US sanctioned two entities involved in fundraising for extremist settlers who have been accused of violence against Palestinians. The Axios report came as the US House of Representatives approved a $95 billion foreign aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, after it was held up for months by a group of hardline Republican lawmakers. The $26.4 billion for Israel passed by a vote of 366 to 58, and includes funding for missile defense systems as well as advanced weapons systems. Separately, the US on Thursday vetoed a UN Security Council bid for full Palestinian membership in the United Nations. Also Read: Netanyahu diz que ajuda dos EUA "defende a civilização ocidental" (Portuguese version)