By Zein Khalil
JERUSALEM (AA) – Calls have grown inside Israel for the removal of “extremists” from the government following the storming of two military bases to protest the arrest of Israeli soldiers accused of sexually abusing a Palestinian detainee.
Ten Israeli soldiers are accused of gang molestation of a Palestinian detainee from Gaza at the Sde Teiman Prison in the Negev desert in southern Israel. Nine soldiers were detained for questioning as part of an investigation into the abuse.
Following the arrest, right-wing politicians broke into two military bases in southern and central Israel to protest the detention of the soldiers.
"A handful of rioters breaks into IDF (army) bases and dismantles our country, the rule of law and the IDF," former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said in a statement on his X account on Tuesday.
"Stop the madness immediately," Bennett also said.
Benny Gantz, a former War Cabinet member, called those who stormed the two military bases an "extremist minority," adding that the majority of Israelis "oppose violence and anarchy."
"The violent acts that we have seen in recent hours lead us to the abyss and endanger the security of the state and the unity of Israeli society," he said.
Gantz, also a former defense minister, said, "Israel deserves a responsible government, which can steer us to victory against our enemies, and bring about consensus among us."
Opposition leader Yair Lapid also joined calls of condemnation against government tolerance of extremists.
He considered the behavior of Israeli officials and Knesset members joining the storming of the military bases as "crossing all red lines" and "an attempted coup by armed militia."
Several hard-liners are members in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, including far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
Several reports emerged of severe abuses of Palestinian detainees at the notorious Sde Teiman Prison since the start 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.
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 Ahmed Asmar