Israeli Military Prosecutor Charges Five Soldiers in Abuse of Palestinian Detainee
An Israeli military prosecutor charged five reservist soldiers on Wednesday with abuse of a Palestinian detainee, saying it took place last year at a military base where thousands of Gazans have been held.The indictment accused soldiers at the Sde Teiman base in southern Israel of breaking the detainee’s ribs, puncturing his left lung and tearing his rectum.
The detainee was identified only by his initials.Avi Amiram and Lior Porat, lawyers representing one of the soldiers, said they have presented arguments that deny the charges against the reservists.Honenu, a right-wing legal organization representing two of the soldiers, criticized the charges and claimed the detainee was a militant in an elite unit in the northern Gaza Strip.
The New York Times could not independently verify Honenu’s allegation about the detainee.The indictment contains some of the most serious allegations of mistreatment at Sde Teiman since the Israeli military launched its offensive in Gaza in the aftermath of the Hamas-led October 2023 attack on Israel.
The case against the soldiers has also revealed divisions in Israel about the extent to which soldiers should be held accountable for abusing Palestinian detainees accused of involvement in terrorist activity.On the evening of July 5, 2024, soldiers beat the detainee while he screamed in pain, according to the indictment, which said his hands and legs were bound and his eyes blindfolded.“For about 15 minutes, the defendants hit the detainee, stomped on him, and stood on his body,” the document said.
“They struck him all over his body.” We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe....