Siphiwe Dlamini
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) arrested eight reservists on Monday as part of an investigation into alleged torture of a Palestinian detainee. This action sparked protests, including a violent incursion into a military base by rioters, among whom were several lawmakers. One lawmaker controversially asserted that no measures were off-limits when dealing with Hamas members.
🇮🇱🇵🇸 “Yes! If he is a Nukhba everything is legitimate to do him!”
Israeli MP Hanoch Milwidsky from Netanyahu’s Likud party says it is legitimate to sodomize Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons. https://t.co/KQ0m7Fvb2G pic.twitter.com/qRfujhihoo
— Lord Bebo (@MyLordBebo) July 30, 2024
Initially, ten soldiers were implicated in the investigation. Two of these individuals were released early on Wednesday, while eight others were ordered to remain in custody until Sunday. The IDF has charged these reservists with aggravated sodomy, causing bodily harm, abuse, and conduct unbecoming of a soldier.
🇮🇱🇵🇸 “Yes! If he is a Nukhba everything is legitimate to do him!”
The arrests disrupted a Knesset Finance Committee meeting when Hanoch Milwidsky, a Member of Parliament from the ruling Likud party, attempted to walk out in protest.
“To insert a stick in a person’s rectum, is that legitimate?”
asked Ahmad Tibi, an Israeli-Arab lawmaker.
“Yes!”
Milwidsky shouted back.
“If he is a Nukhba, everything is legitimate to do! Everything!”
Nukhba is a specialized unit within the al-Qassam Brigades, the militant wing of Hamas. Israel has vowed to dismantle this group following a deadly attack on October 7 of the previous year.
As some lawmakers exchanged heated words, others joined nationalist groups in storming the Sde Teiman military base and prison near Beersheba, where the ten suspects were initially held. Sde Teiman serves as a detention center for Palestinians captured in Gaza.
When military police attempted to transfer the suspects to Beit Lid, a base near Netanya, the rioters followed. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir tweeted,
“Hands off the reservists.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for calm, condemning the actions of the protesters who stormed the military bases.
“Breaking into a military base and disturbing the order there is severe behavior that is not acceptable in any way,”
said Lieutenant-General Herzi Halevi, head of the General Staff.
“We are in the midst of a war, and actions of this type endanger the security of the state.”
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant emphasized that
“the law applies to anyone — nobody may trespass into IDF bases or violate the laws of the state of Israel.”
The unrest forced the IDF to redeploy three battalions to guard the Beit Lid base, not from an external threat but from angry Israeli citizens. This situation has raised concerns, as highlighted by an editorial in the Jerusalem Post, which noted that these forces had “much more pressing things to do in Gaza, in Judea and Samaria, and along the northern border against a real enemy.”
Israel maintains that Palestinian detainees are treated in accordance with international law. However, UN agencies and human rights organizations have expressed concern over reports of abuses. Allegations of severe mistreatment at Sde Teiman, including the anal rape of prisoners, first emerged in a CNN report in May.
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