5 Israeli soldiers accused of sexually abusing Gazan detainee released into house arrest

By Anadolu staff

JERUSALEM (AA) - An Israeli military court on Tuesday ordered the release of five Israeli soldiers accused of sexually abusing a Palestinian detainee into house arrest pending investigation, according to local media.

The soldiers will stay under house arrest for 10 days until Aug. 22 under an agreement between the military prosecution and the soldiers' defense team, Haaretz newspaper reported.

Last month, ten Israeli soldiers were detained for sexually assaulting a detainee from Gaza at the notorious Sde Teiman Prison in southern Israel, but five of them were later released.

Following their arrest on July 29, Israeli right-wing protesters, including politicians, broke into two military bases in southern and central Israel to protest their detention.

Palestinian, Israeli and international human rights reports have recently indicated that prisoners from Gaza have been tortured at the prison, which has led to the deaths of dozens of them.

The Israeli Supreme Court is considering a petition submitted by local human rights organizations to close the notorious prison, where Palestinian detainees have also suffered medical neglect.

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an attack last October by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

Nearly 40,000 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 92,000 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Over ten months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara