Israelis storm into military court to protest arrests of soldiers accused of sexually abusing detainee

By Zein Khalil

JERUSALEM (AA) – Dozens of Israelis on Monday evening broke into the Israeli military court building at the army's base in Beit Lid in central Israel to protest the arrest of soldiers accused of sexually assaulting a Palestinian detainee from Gaza held in the Israeli Sde Teiman prison.

Israel’s Army Radio said there was "chaos" in the military court building after right-wing activists stormed the military base in Beit Lid.

The radio website shared a video showing protesters entering the court building inside the Beit Lid military base.

The Israeli Haaretz daily said around 200 right-wing activists stormed courthouse where the accused soldiers are detained.

It added that guards failed to prevent protesters, including masked soldiers, from entering the building.

The protesters included masked and armed people as well as Knesset (Israel's parliament) members Tally Gotliv and Yitzhak Kroizer, both from ruling coalition parties, the daily added.

Earlier, Israeli media reported that Israeli soldiers gang-raped a Gaza Strip detainee at the Sde Teiman Prison in southern Israel.

Israeli public broadcaster KAN, citing a security source, said the detainee was taken to hospital with severe injuries to an intimate body part, rendering him unable to walk.

According to the Army Radio, 10 soldiers were detained for questioning as part of an investigation into the gruesome abuse.

Several reports have surfaced of severe abuses against Palestinian detainees at the notorious facility since the beginning of Israel's ongoing offensive on the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli army is believed to have detained thousands of Palestinians, including women, children, and medics since Oct. 7, 2023.

In recent months, the army has released dozens of Palestinian detainees from Gaza in deteriorating health conditions, with their bodies bearing torture scars.

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.

More than 39,360 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 Ahmed Asmar