Israel's military is targeting its own soldiers
An Israeli soldier is accused of abusing Palestinian prisoners. The military vows to crack down on reports of worsening conditions for detainees. Far-right activists storm against it.
Israel's military prosecution has charged a soldier with allegedly abusing Palestinian prisoners. He is accused of using "severe violence" against the detainees in his custody while transporting them to Israeli prisons between February and June this year, the military said.
During some of the transports, the reservist allegedly struck the prisoners, who posed no threat and were handcuffed and blindfolded, with a club and his personal weapon, while filming it on his phone.
There have been repeated reports of poor conditions for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody. Just last Monday, Israeli military police arrested nine soldiers at the Sde Teiman military base near the desert city of Beersheva, accused of severely sexually abusing a Hamas terrorist, who had to be hospitalized with injuries.
Protests divide the government
The soldiers' arrest sparked massive unrest in Israel. Protesters immediately stormed the base to protest, and similar protests occurred at other locations, including the Beit Lid military base north-east of Tel Aviv, with far-right lawmakers involved. Relatives of the soldiers called for more protests and denied the allegations against them. The "Haaretz" newspaper reported that an angry mob attacked several Israeli journalists on Tuesday.
Defense Minister Joav Galant wrote to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanjahu that the protests posed a "serious threat to state security" and called for tough action against coalition members involved. He also suggested that far-right police minister Itamar Ben-Gvir may have hindered police from acting against violent protesters from his own camp. Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said during a visit to Beit Lid that attempts by rioters to enter military bases were serious and criminal, bordering on anarchy, and harmed the army, state security, and war efforts. Israeli media reported that the military plans to deploy three battalions to prevent further protests, but the army has not yet confirmed this.
The Sde Teiman detention facility also holds fighters from an elite unit of the Islamic terrorist organization Hamas. Human rights organization Amnesty International recently accused Israel of abusing and torturing Palestinian prisoners from the Gaza Strip. Thousands of so-called security prisoners are held in Israeli prisons, many arrested during the October 7 terrorist attack by Hamas and other groups, and many more during the subsequent Gaza war. According to a report by the "Jerusalem Post," military police prosecutors have contacted former Palestinian inmates of Sde Teiman to inquire about possible abuses.
The Palestinians expressed concern over the allegations of abuse against their fellow prisoners by the Israeli soldier. Furthermore, international human rights organizations, such as Amnesty International, have continuously accused Israel of mistreating Palestinian prisoners.
