Jerusalem: Israel's military announced on Thursday, March 12, that it is dropping charges against five soldiers accused of sexually assaulting a Palestinian detainee at the Sde Teiman prison—an alleged incident partially captured on video.
The decision ends a divisive case that erupted in 2024, when the soldiers' arrests sparked outrage among far-right government members and ultranationalists. Protesters even stormed the facility in a show of support.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the move, declaring that "the state of Israel must pursue its enemies, not its heroic fighters." Human rights groups, however, decried it as a whitewash of severe abuse in Israel's wartime detention network.
Established after the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks, Sde Teiman holds Palestinians detained during Israel's Gaza operations. The site has drawn widespread abuse allegations from former detainees and staff, amplified by a leaked video showing soldiers dragging the victim across the floor, tasering him, and stabbing him in the rectum.
The detainee suffered fractured ribs, blunt trauma to the abdomen and chest, and a perforated rectum requiring surgery. He was treated at an Israeli hospital before returning to the prison and has since been released to Gaza.
The military cited the video's lack of "sufficient violence" for criminal charges, an improper media leak, and the victim's unavailability for testimony due to his release.
"Israel’s military advocate general just gave his soldiers license to rape — so long as the victim is Palestinian," said Sari Bashi, executive director of the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel. She called it part of a pattern of impunity worsening since October 7, 2023.
The probe claimed a high-profile casualty: In November 2025, Military Advocate General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi resigned amid backlash for approving the video leak. She vanished briefly, later found phoneless on a Tel Aviv beach; her phone, potentially holding evidence, was recovered from the sea.
Israel faces ongoing accusations of failing to prosecute soldiers for abuses against Palestinians, especially amid the Gaza war. Officials insist forces adhere to military and international law, with thorough investigations into claims. The Associated Press probed Sde Teiman abuse allegations even before the video surfaced.
(Inputs from AP)