Uproar in Israel after soldiers detained over Gazan detainee abuse

JERUSALEM

Israeli far-right protesters have broken into an army base in a show of support for soldiers after they were detained over abuse of a Palestinian detainee.

Large crowds gathered outside the Sde Teiman compound after Israeli military police entered it to detain the soldiers, who are now subject to an official investigation.

Protesters also broke into a second military base, where the soldiers were taken for questioning, but a police spokeswoman said officers were able to clear it.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a statement strongly condemning the incident and calling for “an immediate calming of passions.”

The military said it has opened an investigation into the "suspected abuse" of a detainee at the Sde Teiman base set up for holding Palestinians arrested in Gaza since the war broke out.

The Palestinian Prisoners Club, a prison watchdog, accused the prison guards of sexually abusing the Palestinian detainee.

Several far-right Israelis, on hearing of the soldiers' detention, rushed towards Sde Teiman to show support for the accused, with several even managing to break into the facility, live footage broadcast by Israeli television networks showed.

Videos that went viral on social media show lawmakers and ministers from the far-right Jewish Power party taking part in the storming of the Sde Teiman military base.

The storming included hand-to-hand clashes with soldiers and police officers who tried to prevent the protesters from entering the base and later from entering its halls.

"Take your hands off the reservists," Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel's far-right National Security Minister, wrote on X.

Meanwhile, top Israeli officials, including Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and army chief Lieutenant-General Herzi Halevi, condemned the mob action.

"Breaking into a military base and disturbing the order there is severe behavior that is not acceptable in any way," Halevi said in a statement.

"We are in the midst of a war and actions of this type endanger the security of the state."

Gallant yesterday expressed his doubt Ben-Gvir's role in failing to take prompt action against the Israeli rioters who stormed two military bases.

Gallant considered the events “severe harm to national security and the government's authority over the Israeli army,” the Israeli daily Jerusalem Post also reported.

An Israeli opposition party leader also yesterday called for imprisoning Israeli parliament members involved in the storming.

At least one Israeli minister and Knesset members were seen among the crowds that stormed into two military bases to protest the arrest of soldiers accused of gang-raping a Palestinian detainee.

Before the probe, several news outlets, including BBC, CNN and AFP, reported Israeli abuse of Gazan detainees in the base.

An Israeli committee tasked with investigating the conditions of Palestinian detainees at the controversial Sde Teiman Prison recommended its closure yesterday after discovering harsh conditions for inmates and proposed relocating them to other jails.