FAR-right protesters in Israel have forced their way into a military facility after the government launched an investigation into the “significant abuse” of a Palestinian prisoner.
The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) announced on Monday that an inquiry had been launched “following suspected substantial abuse of a detainee” which allegedly took place at the Sde Teiman facility in the Negev desert 18 miles from the Gazan border.
The notorious facility is used to hold Palestinians captured by the military in Gaza, including alleged members of Hamas forces involved in the October 7 attack on Israel.
Whistleblowers have previously detailed how detainees are subject to extreme physical restraints, beaten by guards, and even subject to amputations from underqualified doctors due to injuries from constant handcuffing.
There are also reports of injured prisoners being strapped to their beds and forced to wear diapers, which the IDF did not deny.
Now, at least nine soldiers are being questioned by authorities following the abuse of a prisoner believed to be a member of Hamas’s Nukhba fighting force.
The incident is believed to have taken place three weeks ago, with reports on Israeli military radio stating that the prisoner was found “in a very serious condition” which required him to be immediately evacuated and hospitalised.
He later underwent surgery.
According to a lawyer representing three of the soldiers caught up in the inquiry, they were being questioned on suspicion of severe sexual abuse.
Numerous Israeli news outlets have reported that the prisoner suffered severe injuries to his anus.
The soldiers were detained by military police, sparking clashes between them and IDF soldiers.
Spurred on by supportive politicians, far-right protesters then took to the streets in opposition to the inquiry.
Videos posted to social media show crowds forcing their way into the Beit Lid military base where the country’s military courts are headquartered.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the break-in but the country’s president, Isaac Herzog, said that hatred toward members of Hamas “is surely understandable and justified”.
IDF chief Herzi Halevi slammed the behaviour as “unlawful" and "bordering on anarchy.”
It comes after Labour restarted funding to the UN’s Palestinian relief agency UNRWA, after it was stopped by the previous Tory government following allegations from Israel that agency staff were involved in the October 7 attacks.
An independent review found that Israel provided no evidence for its claims.
A recent report published by UNRWA on the Sde Teiman facility found that detainees, including children, were “forced into cage and attacked by dogs”.
In June, the UN estimated that around 27 Palestinian prisoners had died in Israeli military camps, with at least four more dying in the prison system due to beatings or the withholding of medical treatment.
