The incident, involving Israeli lawmaker Zvi Sukkot of the Religious Zionism party, spotlighted divisions within Israel and the challenges faced by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government.
Photos and videos circulating on social media showed protesters, waving Israeli flags, converging on the Sde Teiman detention camp in the Negev desert where Palestinian prisoners, including members of Hamas’ elite Nukhba force, are held. Among the crowd was Zvi Sukkot, a far-right member of Netanyahu’s coalition, reported NBC News.
Alongside the events at Sde Teiman, protesters also stormed a judicial building on the Beit Lid base in central Israel, where the soldiers were reportedly taken for questioning. Israel Police confirmed their presence at both locations, aiming to maintain law and order while allowing for protests.
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Lt Gen Herzi Halevi, the Israeli military’s chief of the general staff, criticized the protestors’ actions, describing them as “serious, unlawful behaviors bordering on anarchy.”
The protests began after the Israeli military announced an investigation into “a suspicion of severe abuse of a detainee” at the Sde Teiman facility. At least nine suspects were detained for questioning, sparking outcry among some segments of the Israeli population. Specifics of the alleged abuse remain unclear, and the IDF did not respond immediately to requests for more information.
In a statement, Israel Police emphasized their efforts to enforce “law and order professionally, while allowing the freedom of demonstration and protest.”
Both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog condemned the incursion. Herzog said, “The invasion of a military base by civilians, especially when done with the encouragement and involvement of public officials, is a serious, dangerous, illegal, and irresponsible act that primarily harms us as a people and as a state.”
Meanwhile, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, leader of the Religious Zionism party, expressed his support for civil protest against what he called “the terrible injustice towards the reservists in the Sde Teiman.” However, he urged demonstrators to follow the law and avoid breaking into bases or confronting authorities.
This event followed recent appeals by UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Alice Jill Edwards, who in late May called for the Israeli government to investigate multiple allegations of “torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment” against detained Palestinians. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights noted that Israeli authorities appeared to have taken no effective measures to investigate these allegations.
Source : Times of India
