Israelis protest anticipated court verdict to extend arrest of soldiers after sexual abuse of detainee

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) – Scores of Israelis demonstrated outside Beit Lid Military Court in central Israel on Tuesday over the arrest of nine soldiers accused of sexually abusing a Palestinian detainee at Sde Teiman Prison in the Negev desert.

The protest was staged as the court convened to consider an extension of the detention of the soldiers.

The court session was held behind closed doors amid a heavy police deployment around the courthouse to prevent protesters from storming it.

According to Israeli Channel 12, around 40 protesters gathered outside the court to demand the release of the detained soldiers.

Ten Israeli soldiers are accused of gang molestation of the detainee at the notorious detention facility. Nine soldiers were detained on Monday for questioning as part of an investigation into the abuse.

Following the arrest, right-wing protesters, including politicians, broke into two military bases in southern and central Israel to protest the detention of the soldiers.

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 Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian group Hamas.

At least 39,400 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and nearly 91,000 injured, according to local health authorities.

Over nine 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, whose latest ruling ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala in Istanbul