Military police raided the IDF's Sde Teiman detention facility, where Hamas terrorists are taken for questioning, and detained for questioning nine reservists suspected of abuse of a Nukhba terrorist who was detained at the base. There were physical confrontations between the military policemen and the reserve soldiers during the arrests. The terrorist was taken to Soroka Hospital in Be'er Sheva with bruises on his buttocks.
Some of the protesters attacked a television news team that came to cover the protest, calling them "traitors." The protesters broke open the gate of the part of the base where terrorists arrested in Gaza are kept. After that they began to march on it, while soldiers tried to repel them. A small contingent of police arrived long after the start of the riot.
Protesters breach the gates of the Sde Teiman detention facility where Gaza terrorists are held
(Video: Herzl Yosef, Ilana Curiel)
Knesset member Zvi Sukkot breaks through gate at Sde Teiman detention facility, then calls not to confront soldiers
Knesset lawmaker Zvi Sukkot of the religious Zionist Party led by Bezalel Smotrich was filmed entering the base without permission through a breach in the fence. Later, he was recorded calling on the protesters not to confront the soldiers there. “We have no other army, this is an important demonstration, let’s go outside and not fight with the soldiers,” he said.
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Protesters at Sde Teiman detention facility raise sign reading 'We are with the soldiers'
(Photo: Ilana Curiel)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant did not comment on the incident.
Members of right-wing parties in the Knesset came to the defense of the soldiers. The chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, Yuli Edelstein of the Likud Party, will hold a discussion on the conduct of the chief military prosecutor. “A situation in which masked military policemen raid an IDF base is not acceptable to me and I will not allow it to happen again. Our soldiers are not criminals, and this contemptible pursuit of our soldiers is unacceptable to me,” Edelstein said.
The IDF has emphasized that there were no arrests, stressing that the soldiers were detained as part of an investigation.
An IDF spokesperson said in a statement that "following a suspicion of serious abuse of a detainee who was held in the detention facility in Sde Teiman, an investigation by the military police was opened by order of the military attorney's office."
Among the demonstrators who arrived at the scene were reservists, who blocked the base's exit and later breached its fences along with members of the Knesset who arrived at the scene
The demonstrators who arrived at the scene claimed that the detention of the reservists, suspected of abuse of a prisoner, could "demotivate reservists."
"These are people who raped and harmed," they told Ynet, "tomorrow our battalion is supposed to enter Gaza. In the end, people will think twice because of this. It's like the Jews in the Holocaust who were informers on others."
Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir offered his support to the detained soldiers, and said that " The spectacle of military police officers coming to arrest our best heroes at Sde Teiman is nothing less than shameful. I recommend that the defense minister, the chief of staff and the army authorities back the fighters and learn from the prison service. The summer camps and patience for the terrorists are over. Soldiers should get full backing," he said.
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Protesters against arrest of reservists accused of abusing a terrorist held there
(Photo: Herzl Yosef)
The ultra-Orthodox Shas party also called in a statement for support for the soldiers. "The grim sight of masked military policemen raiding an IDF base and arresting soldiers like criminals should disturb every citizen in the country. Our dear soldiers who sacrifice their lives in a difficult war against the murderous enemy of Hamas should receive full support and total respect and appreciation,” the party statement said.
Justice Minister Yariv Levin also criticized the arrests. “I was shocked to see the difficult pictures of soldiers being arrested at Sde Teiman the way dangerous criminals are arrested," he said, adding: "We must not forget that these are soldiers who do difficult holy work for all of us by guarding the worst of the terrorists
He reiterated his call for judicial reform, blaming the arrest on the Supreme Court. "Today, many are voicing the demand for a fundamental change in the situation. The time has come for this justified public outcry to find a listening ear among the Knesset members who in the past refrained from supporting the implementation of the necessary changes," he said.
The head of the opposition, Yair Lapid, condemned those that broke into the detention facility. : "The incursion into Sde Teiman is a despicable and dangerous crime by lawmakers who weaken and dismantle the IDF, weaken and dismantle the State of Israel, gnawing away at the foundations of our power from within," he said.
“The politicians who abandoned the hostages, abandoned security and destroyed Israeli society are now destroying the chain of command. The country is in existential danger if these people do not leave power and get out of our lives,” he said.
Transport Minister Miri Regev claimed: "Arresting our soldiers who defend the country is a dangerous step in wartime. The military justice system must focus on protecting our soldiers, not pleasing our enemies."
The chairman of the Democrats Party, made up of left-wing parties Labor and Meretz, Yair Golan, said that with this incident Israel has reached a crossroads.
"We have reached a time of decision - the fascist state of Judah or the liberal-democratic state of Israel. Those who allow the Kahanists to enter the government discover how serious the phenomenon is when they choose to rebel against the army. To the extent that criminal offenses were committed by soldiers who acted contrary to orders, it is the duty of the army and the state to investigate them. The army must not allow the phenomena of criminal fringes to do as they wish in the army."
Left-wing Knesset member Gilad Kariv said that "the attempt to interfere in command and legal decisions within the army will lead to the disbanding of the army and serious security damage. Itamar Ben-Gvir and Otzma Yehudit are encouraging a rebellion within the army, no less than that. Along the way, they expose IDF soldiers and commanders to international proceedings."
The storm even reached the WhatsApp group of government ministers, where Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu of Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit party wrote that "What is happening now in Sde Teiman is legal madness. Whoever gave the order to persecute the heroic soldiers who are forced to live in the environment of human animals should put down the keys and go home."
After the storm that erupted following detentions, IDF Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi said in a statement: “The break-in at the Sde Teiman Base is extremely serious and against the law. Breaking into a military base and disturbing the order there is severe behavior that is not acceptable in any way. We are in the midst of a war, and actions of this type endanger the security of the state. I strongly condemn the incident, and we are working to restore order at the base.
"I fully support the Military Advocate General’s Corps and the Military Police Criminal Investigation Division in investigating every incident brought to their attention. This is their duty, regardless of rank or position. It is precisely these investigations that protect our soldiers in Israel and the world and preserve IDF values. These investigations are conducted while respecting the dignity of our soldiers, whom we command.”