WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Antony Blinken suggested Monday the State Department would make public this week its plan to withhold aid from an Israeli military unit accused of human rights violations in the West Bank.

“You'll see in the days ahead that we will have more to say,” Blinken told reporters.

The State Department is expected to announce that an Israeli military unit known as Netzah Yehuda is in violation of the Leahy Law, which bars US military training and equipment from going to foreign security forces credibly accused of committing gross human rights violations, including extrajudicial killings, rape and torture.

On Friday, Blinken told reporters he had made “determinations” about possible assistance cuts under the 1997 law but did not name any specific Israeli military units. On Monday, he told reporters to “stay tuned” when asked about the expected measures.

Axios first reported that the department has determined that Netzah Yehuda, an ultra-Orthodox battalion, is in violation of the Leahy Law.

The unit’s soldiers were linked to the killing of Palestinian American Omar Assad, a 78-year-old former grocery store owner in Milwaukee who was found dead due to a heart attack in January 2022 after soldiers from Netzah Yehuda detained, bound and handcuffed him at a West Bank checkpoint. The Israeli military disciplined three of the unit’s commanders but did not bring criminal charges against the soldiers implicated in Assad’s death.

Some critics say the designation of a single Israel military unit is mostly a symbolic exercise, given that it’s difficult to trace whether Netzah Yehuda is even receiving US funding. Josh Paul, who in October resigned in protest from the State Department office handling arms transfers, called it “more of a distraction than a real practical step forward.”

“It lets the secretary [of state] suggest that he is taking action while at the same time the weapons continue to flow into Gaza, where there are a lot of gross violations of human rights happening,” Paul told Al-Monitor.

Before he left in October, Paul said a State Department panel known as the “Israel Leahy Vetting Forum” had concluded there were six Israeli military units credibly alleged to be involved in gross violations of human rights. The panel recommended a waiver for two of the units because the Israeli government was taking steps to hold them accountable, he said.

On Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to fight the expected US move, which he called “the height of absurdity and a moral low.”

“If anyone thinks they can impose sanctions on a unit of the IDF, I will fight it with all my strength," Netanyahu said.

Ahead of the expected Leahy determination, Blinken held separate phone calls Sunday with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and war cabinet minister Benny Gantz.