Israeli demonstrators backed by prominent far-right lawmakers from Israel’s ruling coalition stormed a military base on Monday where at least nine soldiers were being held for questioning over suspected torture and abuse of a Palestinian prisoner at Sde Teiman prison in the Negev desert.
According to footage broadcast on Israeli television, a group including a minister from an ultra-nationalist party forced open a gate and advanced on the base, Reuters reported.
The demonstrators burst through the facility’s gate, waving Israeli flags and chanting “shame”. Some spoke over loudspeakers demanding the soldiers’ release. A group of people broke into a military court there before police and soldiers pushed them back out, the police said in a statement. There were no arrests at the scene.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich described the arrested soldiers as “heroes who should not be treated as criminals”, while National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who oversees the prisons where Palestinians are detained, called them the “best heroes” and described the arrests as “shameful”.
On the other hand, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the break-in and called for calm. The army’s chief of staff, Herzi Halevi, described the incident as “extremely serious and against the law.”
“We are in the midst of a war, and actions of this type endanger the security of the state,” he said in a statement. “We are working to restore order at the base.”
Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, is currently on a summer break but will hold an emergency discussion on Tuesday, called by MPs who want to defend the soldiers.
Israel’s parliament Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee Chair Yuli Edelstein announced he will hold a hearing in the parliament on Tuesday, denying the guilt of the detained soldiers and describing the arrests “contemptible.”
The Israeli military announced that nine soldiers are being held for questioning due to allegations of “substantial abuse” of a detainee at the facility. These soldiers are accused of leaving a detainee “in a very serious condition” three weeks ago. Additionally, an arrest warrant has been issued for a tenth soldier who was not present at the time.
Sde Teiman, located near Beersheba (Bir al-Saba) in southern Israel, has been the focus of allegations regarding severe mistreatment of Gazan detainees for several months.
Reports from local media indicate that at least nine Israeli soldiers stationed at the base are accused of abusing a Palestinian detainee, who is a suspected Hamas fighter captured in Gaza.
The detainee reportedly required hospitalisation due to serious sexual abuse and injuries to his anus, which left him unable to walk, according to Israeli media sources.
