Far-right Israeli demonstrators have invaded a military base to show support for soldiers accused of severely mistreating Palestinian prisoners.
Large crowds gathered outside Sde Teyman base after Israeli military police entered the base to detain the reservists, who are now under formal investigation.
Sde Teyman, near Beersheba in southern Israel, has for months been the focus of reports of serious mistreatment of detainees in the Gaza Strip.
On Monday, dozens of protesters, including far-right lawmakers from Israel’s ruling coalition, smashed through the base’s gates, chanting “we will not abandon our friends, much less terrorists,” as others tried to scale the fence.
- author, Mark Lowen
- role, BBC News, Jerusalem
Some soldiers at the base reportedly used pepper spray on military police officers who arrived to detain the reservists.
Protesters also entered the Beit Lid military base in central Israel, where suspected reservists were taken in for questioning.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement strongly condemning the incursion and calling for an “immediate calming of emotions.”
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said investigations into the soldiers’ actions should continue, adding that “the law applies to everyone, even in times of anger.”
But some Israeli politicians have condemned the arrests of the reservists, with far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir calling their detention “nothing short of shameful.”
Local media reports said at least nine Israeli soldiers at the base were accused of mistreating Palestinian detainees suspected of being Hamas fighters held in Gaza.
Israeli media reports said he was hospitalized after suffering severe sexual abuse and anal injuries that left him unable to walk.
The Israeli army said the attorney general had ordered the investigation following “severe allegations of ill-treatment of detainees.”
Since the Hamas attack on October 7, Israeli authorities have arrested thousands of Palestinians in large numbers and detained them, often without access to lawyers.
The BBC has previously spoken to medical workers at the field hospital set up in Sde Teyman, who claim detainees are blindfolded, permanently chained to their beds and forced to wear nappies rather than use the toilet.
Last month, Israel’s Haaretz newspaper published a story claiming that doctors at Sde Teyman prison had amputated the legs of two prisoners after injuries caused by handcuffs. The BBC has not independently verified the claims.
Detainees have told journalists and UN officials they have been beaten and attacked, though the Israel Defense Forces denies systematic abuse.
Many Gazans detained by Israeli forces are questioned and then released without charge. Amnesty International called on Israel this month to end the indefinite detention of Palestinians in Gaza and to end “rampant torture” in its prisons.
