Far-right lawmakers break into Israeli detention camp, protesting probe into soldiers’ alleged abuse of prisoner
Footage posted to social media showed chaotic scenes at the Sde Teiman base in Israel’s Negev desert, where far-right Knesset member Zvi Sukkot was filmed slipping through a fence and entering the facility as crowds gathered outside, in protest against the probe. Another video showed people crowding the perimeter of the base as guards held them back.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said earlier in a statement that its Military Police Criminal Investigation Division (MPCID) was formally looking into the “suspected substantial abuse of a detainee” at the shadowy base, where prisoners from Gaza have allegedly been held under extreme conditions.
In a CNN investigation released in May, Israeli whistleblowers as well as Palestinian former detainees and eyewitnesses described widespread abuse at Sde Teiman, including blindfolding and handcuffing.
“The break-in at the Sde Teiman Base is extremely serious and against the law,” Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, the IDF’s Chief of the General Staff, said in a statement Monday, adding that the military was “working to restore order at the base.”
“Breaking into a military base and disturbing the order there is severe behavior that is not acceptable in any way. We are in the midst of a war, and actions of this type endanger the security of the state,” his statement said.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid also condemned the breach, criticizing the “dangerous criminality of (Knesset members) who weaken and dismantle the IDF, weaken and dismantle the state of Israel, gnawing away at the foundations of our power from within.”
“The country is facing an existential threat if these people do not get out of the government and of our lives,” he said in a post on X.
President Isaac Herzog slammed elected officials for their involvement, and for encouraging what he said was a “dangerous, illegal and irresponsible act.”
Sukkot, who was among those at Sde Teiman on Monday, is a member of the ultra-nationalist Religious Zionism party, which is led by the far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for immediate calm at Sde Teiman and condemned the break-in at the base in a statement on Monday.
Earlier this month, following an international outcry over reports of abuse at the detention facility, Netanyahu told Israel’s Supreme Court that he had ordered an end to long-term imprisonment at the detention center, limiting its use to initial interrogations and a temporary holding facility. The vast majority of prisoners had already been transferred out of the desert facility, according to the Israeli government’s statement to the court at the time.
The Israeli military has previously acknowledged partially converting three different military facilities into detention camps for Palestinian detainees from Gaza since the Hamas-led October 7 attacks: Sde Teiman in the Negev desert, as well as Anatot and Ofer military bases in the occupied West Bank.
Last month, Halevi said the military had launched a probe into allegations of mistreatment at Sde Teiman, as well as at Anatot and Ofer.
As part of CNN’s investigation into Sde Teiman, three Israeli whistleblowers said that Palestinian detainees at the base were constantly blindfolded and held under extreme physical restraint. Doctors sometimes amputated prisoners’ limbs due to injuries sustained from continuous handcuffing, one whistleblower said. The account tallied with details of a letter authored by a doctor working at Sde Teiman published by Ha’aretz in April.
Several Israeli and Palestinian rights groups, as well as local and international media outlets, also detailed alleged torture and mistreatment at the camp.
Responding to CNN’s request for comment on all the allegations made in its May 10 investigation, the Israeli military said in a statement: “The IDF ensures proper conduct towards the detainees in custody. Any allegation of misconduct by IDF soldiers is examined and dealt with accordingly. In appropriate cases, MPCID investigations are opened when there is suspicion of misconduct justifying such action.”
“Detainees are handcuffed based on their risk level and health status. Incidents of unlawful handcuffing are not known to the authorities.”
The IDF did not directly deny accounts of people being stripped of their clothing or held in diapers. Instead, the Israeli military said that the detainees are given back their clothing once the IDF has determined that they pose no security risk.
CNN’s Abeer Salman in Jerusalem and Tamara Qiblawi in London contributed to this report.
The investigation by CNN revealed widespread abuse at Sde Teiman, including Blindfolding and handcuffing of Palestinian detainees, which is located in the Middle East. Due to the allegations of extreme conditions and abuse, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) initiated an investigation into the "suspected substantial abuse" at this desert facility situated in Israel.
