Israel’s military police raid Gaza-war prison over abuse allegations
Israeli soldiers stand by a truck packed with bound and blindfolded Palestinian detainees in Gaza in December 2023. (AP Photo)
Israel’s military police conducted a raid on a prison holding detainees from the Gaza war following allegations that an inmate suffered “serious abuse.”
The move has drawn criticism from some members of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling coalition.
Soldiers arrested at Sde Teiman base
Local TV stations broadcast images of soldiers being arrested on Monday at Sde Teiman, a desert base in southern Israel that houses suspected Hamas militants responsible for the Oct. 7 attacks.
The prison also holds Palestinians captured during the nearly 10-month military campaign in Gaza.
The conditions at Sde Teiman have been the subject of Supreme Court challenges by human-rights watchdogs, citing intolerable conditions.
However, these claims have garnered sympathy in Israel, where anger over the Oct. 7 atrocities remains still high.
Several army reservists deployed as wardens at Sde Teiman were reportedly arrested. TV footage showed military policemen, some wearing masks to conceal their identities, leading a soldier away.
Attempted break-in by Israeli far-right civilians
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported that Israeli civilians attempted to break into Sde Teiman in apparent protest against the arrests.
Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi condemned their actions as “extremely serious and against the law,” according to a statement.
The Israeli military has not immediately confirmed any arrests but stated that its judge advocate-general had ordered an investigation into the suspected abuse of a detainee.
Political reactions
Israeli well-known Far-right Minister for National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, expressed his opposition to the arrests on social media platform X, urging: “Take your hands off the reservists!”
Several members of his faction pledged to drive to Sde Teiman to prevent the arrests. Ben-Gvir, head of the Nationalist Jewish Power party, is part of Netanyahu’s coalition, which gives him a ruling majority.
Parliamentary oversight
Yuli Edelstein, a member of Netanyahu’s Likud party and Chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee of the Israeli Knesset, announced that he would summon the judge advocate-general and military police chief for a hearing before the committee.
“Our soldiers are not criminals,” Edelstein said in a statement, reflecting the sentiments of many within the ruling coalition.
