Israeli protesters enter Sde Teiman military base after soldiers detained over Gaza detainee abuse

Far-right Israeli protesters have stormed a military base to show support for soldiers accused of abusing a Palestinian prisoner there.

Large crowds gathered outside the Sde Teiman complex after Israeli military police entered it to arrest the reservists, who are now under formal investigation.

For several months, Sde Teiman Prison, near Beersheba in southern Israel, has been the focus of reports of serious abuses against detainees in Gaza.

On Monday, dozens of protesters, including far-right lawmakers from Israel’s ruling coalition, stormed the base’s gate while others tried to climb the fence, chanting, “We will not abandon our friends, and certainly not to terrorists.”

Some soldiers at the base reportedly used pepper spray against military police who arrived to detain the reservists.

Protesters also entered the Beit Lid military base in central Israel, where the accused reservists were taken for questioning.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement strongly condemning the raid and calling for “an immediate calming of emotions.”

Defense Minister Yoav Galant said the investigation into the soldiers’ conduct must be allowed to continue, adding: “Even in times of anger, the law applies to everyone.”

But some Israeli politicians have condemned the reservists’ arrests. Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called their detention “shameful.”

Local media reports said at least nine Israeli soldiers at the base were accused of mistreating the Palestinian detainee, a suspected Hamas fighter captured in Gaza.

He was reportedly taken to hospital after what Israeli media described as severe sexual abuse and anal injuries that left him unable to walk.

The Israeli military said the attorney general had ordered an investigation “following suspicions that a detainee had been subjected to serious abuse.”

Since the Hamas attack on October 7, Israeli authorities have arrested and detained thousands of Palestinians, often without legal representation.

The BBC earlier spoke to medical workers at a field hospital set up in Sde Timan, who alleged that detainees were blindfolded, permanently chained to their beds and forced to wear diapers rather than being given access to toilets.

Last month, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported allegations by a doctor at Sde Teiman prison that two prisoners had had their legs amputated due to injuries sustained from being shackled. The BBC has not been able to independently verify the claims.

Detainees there have told journalists and UN officials that they were beaten and assaulted. The IDF has denied committing systematic abuses.

Many Gazans detained by the Israeli military are released without charge after being interrogated. Amnesty International this month called on Israel to end the indefinite detention of Palestinians in Gaza and what it called “rampant torture” in its prisons.