Israeli army slams public broadcaster for showing faces of soldiers detained in Sde Teiman sexual assault

By Rania Abu Shamala

ISTANBUL (AA) – The Arabic-language channel of Israeli public broadcaster KAN came under fire from the military on Monday for showing the faces of soldiers accused of sexually assaulting a Palestinian detainee at Sde Teiman Prison in southern Israel.

In a statement, the army considered the publication of the soldiers’ faces a “blatant violation of the military court’s gag order.”

The army said it issued an order to the channel to remove the footage.

Last month, ten Israeli soldiers were detained for sexually assaulting a detainee from Gaza at the notorious detention facility, but five of them were later released.

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.