Far-right Israeli protesters stormed a military base to show support for soldiers accused of severely abusing a Palestinian prisoner there.
Large crowds gathered outside the Sde Teiman compound after Israeli military police arrived to arrest the reservists, who are now under formal investigation.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement strongly condemning the incident and calling for an “immediate calming of passions.”
Protesters also stormed another military base where reservists were being taken in for questioning, but a police spokesman said officers were able to clear it.
For months, Sde Teiman, near Beersheba in southern Israel, has been at the center of reports of serious abuses against Gazan prisoners.
At least nine Israeli soldiers at the base are accused of abusing a Palestinian prisoner, a suspected Hamas militant, in Gaza, according to local media.
He was reportedly hospitalized after what Israeli media reports described as severe sexual abuse and anal injuries that left him unable to walk.
Israel’s military said its attorney general ordered the investigation “following suspected substantial abuse of a detainee.”
The Palestinian Authority’s (PA) Commission of Detainees Affairs based in the West Bank has called on the international community to urgently intervene through a UN-organized investigation.
On Monday, dozens of protesters, including far-right MPs from Israel’s ruling coalition, stormed through the gate of the base as others tried to scale the fence, chanting “we will not abandon our friends, certainly not for terrorists”.
Some soldiers at the base were reported to have used pepper spray against military police officers who arrived to arrest the reservists.
Israel’s military Chief of Staff, Lt General Herzi Halevi, said the break-in at Sde Tieman was “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.
“I strongly condemn the incident, and we are working to restore order at the base.”
Demonstrators also went to the Beit Lid military base in central Israel, where accused reservists were taken in for questioning.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the investigation into the soldiers’ behavior must be allowed to continue, adding that “even in times of anger, the law applies to everyone”.
However, some Israeli politicians condemned the detention of reservists. Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir described their arrest as “nothing less than shameful”.
Since Israel was attacked by Hamas on October 7, Israeli authorities have rounded up and arrested thousands of Palestinians, often without legal representation.
The BBC said it had interviewed medical staff at a field hospital in Sde Teiman, who said detainees were blindfolded, permanently tied to beds and made to wear nappies instead of allowing them access to toilets.
Last month, Israel’s Haaretz newspaper published claims by a doctor in Sde Teiman that two prisoners suffered leg amputations due to cuff injuries. The BBC has not independently confirmed the claims.
Prisoners there told journalists and UN officials that they were beaten and assaulted. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) denied systematic abuses.
Many Gazans arrested by the Israeli army are released without charge after interrogation. Amnesty International this month called on Israel to end the indefinite detention and “rampant torture” of Gaza Palestinians in its prisons.
Source: BBC News
