Alleged Abuse of Palestinian Detainees at Center of Nation-wide Human Rights Dispute
Israel faces internal strife as nine soldiers are detained over abuse allegations against Palestinian detainees, sparking protests and highlighting deep divisions amid ongoing conflict
Amid a war with Gaza, the imminent threat of an escalation with Lebanon, and multiple other challenges, Israel has found itself immersed in more upheaval as the detainment of nine reservist soldiers suspected of abuse towards Palestinian detainees sparks controversy and unprecedented scenes of mayhem in military bases.
On Monday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced the soldiers were being held for questions following allegations of “substantial abuse” of one detainee in the Sde Teiman military base. The detainee is one of hundreds being held in several Israeli detention centers and jails, suspected of taking part in the October 7th attack on Israel. Sde Teiman is the largest detention center in which Hamas terrorists are being held in custody, pending possible indictment and trial. The site has been subject to international scrutiny since October as different allegations of dreadful conditions and abuse at the facility have surfaced.
The IDF has largely denied the claims, but on Monday, army investigators arrived at the base, taking the nine reservists for interrogation on the orders of the chief military prosecutor.
“This … follows months of … raising alarms about widespread abuses of Palestinian detainees by Israel’s military and prison service,” read a statement by Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI). “Mounting testimonies indicate these incidents are not isolated…(and) suggest systematic abuse and violence, and a blind eye to violations.”
According to B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights group, there are approximately 8,000 Palestinian detainees currently in Israeli prisons. Thousands of Palestinians were detained in the aftermath of Hamas’ attack.
Word of the soldier’s detention quickly spread throughout the country. Videos on social media show a masked, plain-clothed man from the military police coming to take a reservist for interrogation. People then gathered spontaneously, and what ensued were protests near the detention center and later at the military police headquarters, where the soldiers were brought to for investigation. Some demonstrators broke through the gates of the base and entered it. Several ministers and members of Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, were also present.
According to Naji Abbas, Director of Prisoners and Detainees at PHRI, there have been tens of witness accounts of daily violence and violation of basic rights at detention centers. Abbas estimates tens of detainees have died during this period, which he called unprecedented and “insane” in the scope of testimonies received.
The Palestinian prisoner who is at the heart of the debate was allegedly subject to harsh sexual abuse, which Abbas said posed a threat to his life.
“Maintaining the rights of prisoners is one of the parameters of a law-abiding democratic state,” Abbas told The Media Line. “Punishment is decided by the courts, and the detention centers are meant to uphold basic conditions that safeguard prisoner’s lives.”
The war has jaded Israelis on many levels, wreaking havoc on many lives. The exhaustion appears to have also affected many public systems. The PHRI said in a statement Tuesday that other recent and severe cases of sexual assault have not been investigated.
Before the war, there were tools and oversight. Now it feels like law enforcement and the judicial system have abandoned their duties while facing a fair amount of violations. Today, there is no defense by the judiciary, and appeals to the court do not change the reality.
“Before the war, there were tools and oversight,” Abbas said. “Now it feels like law enforcement and the judicial system have abandoned their duties while facing a fair amount of violations. Today, there is no defense by the judiciary, and appeals to the court do not change the reality.”
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More protests are planned for Tuesday as public outrage continues.
“On the 7th of October, the people of Israel were humiliated and hurt. It was a complete failure,” Shai Glick, head of Btsalmo, a right-wing Israeli human rights organization, told The Media Line. “After it, there was an expectation that something would change, that the terrorists and their incitement would be taken care of and that the judiciary would be in line with the fight against terror. This did not happen, and the result was the explosion of months of pent-up frustration.”
Almost ten months into the war, there have been no indictments against those suspected of perpetrating the violent events against Israel, despite the thousands of detainees held in custody. Earlier this month, three Israelis were arrested on suspicion of killing a Palestinian during the hours of Hamas’ raid on southern Israel. This sparked criticism amongst many in the Israeli public.
It feels like the system is haunting Israelis more than it haunts Hamas terrorists. The Supreme Court has had tens of deliberations on petitions regarding the war, humanitarian aid to Gaza, the menu of the Hamas terrorists in prison, visits they get from the Red Cross, and much more.
“It feels like the system is haunting Israelis more than it haunts Hamas terrorists,” Glick said. “The Supreme Court has had tens of deliberations on petitions regarding the war, humanitarian aid to Gaza, the menu of the Hamas terrorists in prison, visits they get from the Red Cross, and much more.”
When the war broke out, Israel was at the height of internal unrest regarding a government attempt to legislate widespread reforms of the judicial system. The country was divided. Supporters of the government plan believe the courts have become too powerful and often intervene in political issues that should be determined by the government. Opponents say the courts serve as a necessary brake on the government. Israel was flooded with protestors, with the opposition denouncing the reforms as distancing Israel from being a democracy.
Hamas’ shock attack on Israel, which killed approximately 1,200 Israelis and began a massive war that has since killed hundreds of Israeli soldiers, put a temporary hold on the internal strife. But, as the war continued, the differences began to resurface. Israelis have also been passionately debating the fate of 115 hostages Hamas is still holding in Gaza, some favoring a deal and some vehemently opposing one. The latest controversy brought all of those fissures to the forefront.
Emotions were still running high on Tuesday.
“This comes at a time when the Israeli society is facing huge complexities,” said Efrat Rayten Marom, a Member of the Knesset from the Labor Party. “We are seeing the result of processes that have been going on for several years of a growing public that completely distrusts law enforcement. Added to this is the trauma of the October 7th attack and the fraught nerves of Israelis experiencing a lengthy war together with the backdrop of the judicial coup before it and an extreme government in power.”
Israelis are still bracing themselves for an IDF retaliation against Lebanon and the Hezbollah terrorist organization after a deadly attack killed 12 Druze-Israeli children on Saturday. Such a retaliation could spark an even greater regional conflict, putting everyone on edge. It was also the reason for criticism on both sides of the political map that now was not the time to deal with such an issue, each side for their own reason and with their own explanation.
But the controversy was inevitable.
There is a growing dissatisfaction in the right wing that the whole judicial system is perceived as part of the left, with liberal ideals that always harm the right wing and limit actions they want to take. Now we see a very harsh expression of this because the right believes that soldiers who act in violence against terrorists should not be treated as criminals, but rather with forgiveness.
“There is a growing dissatisfaction in the right wing that the whole judicial system is perceived as part of the left, with liberal ideals that always harm the right wing and limit actions they want to take,” said Ariel Picard, a research fellow and teacher at Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. “Now we see a very harsh expression of this because the right believes that soldiers who act in violence against terrorists should not be treated as criminals, but rather with forgiveness.”
The scenes of soldiers taken to interrogation and the subsequent pictures of hundreds of demonstrators scuffling and pushing soldiers at the entrance to a military base brought to the surface, yet again, the many fragments in Israeli society. The Israeli army is seen by many as above the political discourse, a consensus amongst both left and right.
The struggle between the right and the left is about the idea that morals and humanism should or should not limit a military from fighting.
“The struggle between the right and the left is about the idea that morals and humanism should or should not limit a military from fighting,” Picard told The Media Line. “The role of the military advocate general is to restrain soldiers’ behavior towards the enemy, and this is perceived in the right as weakening Israel.”
Rayten Marom condemned the events, the participation of other members of parliament, and any alleged violence against detainees.
“They see the military advocate general as acting from liberal, leftist ideas that harm our soldiers at a time when we should be embracing them because, for ten months, they have been fully vested in defending Israel,” she said, highlighting the burden born by reservists who have often left families and jobs for long-term duty during the current war. “It needs to be said that never before have reservists been required to watch over horrible Hamas terrorists who committed crimes that only the devil could imagine.”
Together with members of the Knesset from both sides of the house, she signed a letter appealing for calm.
“We will not be silent amidst the danger of internal dissolution by extremist elements,” it read. “The army must stay out of the debate; it is clear that the law must be upheld, and the independence of law enforcement and command maintained.”
