Israeli Military Prosecutor Charges Five Soldiers in Abuse of Palestinian Detainee

10 comments

1. > On the evening of July 5, 2024, soldiers beat the detainee while he screamed in pain, according to the indictment, which said his hands and legs were bound and his eyes blindfolded.
   >
   > The indictment accused soldiers at the Sde Teiman base in southern Israel of breaking the detainee’s ribs, puncturing his left lung and tearing his rectum

   Why do Israeli militants love gang raping prisoners so much? I mean, sure, this seems like one of the rare times these cases at least go to prosecution, but [last time a bunch of IDF soldiers got caught publicly gang-raping someone](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/israel-sexual-abuse-palestinian-prisoners-rcna165811), there were [pro-rape riots almost breaking them out of detention](https://www.timesofisrael.com/as-protesters-back-troops-accused-of-abuse-a-debate-erupts-on-military-morality-in-war/), and the perpetrators were then [paraded around like heroes in Israeli media.](https://mondoweiss.net/2024/08/the-main-suspect-in-the-sde-teiman-gang-rape-case-is-now-a-media-star-in-israel/) It’s extraordinary.

2. Oh this is very interesting because these are the soldiers that violently attacked, tortured and raped the prisoner. I had genuinely not expected anything to come from this.

   If they are prosecuted, then I will be pleased but it is just a drop in the ocean of war crimes and human rights abuses. That makes me think this is nothing more than a show trial for the rest of the world, so they can point their fingers at this trial and say look we do prosecute war criminals!

   When the Israeli authorities arrest Benjamin Netanyahu and send him to the Hague then I might think that things are changing

3. This is how the system should work. Hold soldiers to moral standards even if the victims of the assault are horrible monsters. Proud of them withstanding every pressure to make sure we are not like the other side.

   And to the other commenters who think this is somehow a gotcha, please name a single Palestinian charged in a Palestinian court for mistreating IDF soldiers. I’ll wait.

4. Israeli soldiers accused of harming Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip over the last five years [2017-2021] **have been indicted in less than 1% of the hundreds of complaints against them**. [Haaretz](https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2022-12-22/ty-article/watchdog-under-1-of-israel-army-probes-yield-prosecution/00000185-39de-d5e1-a1e5-7ffe453f0000)

   Most were dismissed out of hand after only a “preliminary examination.” Out of the 1,260 complaints, only 248 investigations were opened, and only 11 of these investigations led to indictments being filed against soldiers — three of which in incidents where soldiers killed Palestinians. This means that **out of hundreds of cases that raised criminal suspicion that Israeli soldiers killed Palestinian civilians, only three led to an indictment.** [+972](https://www.972mag.com/israeli-soldiers-impunity-yesh-din/)

   An Israeli organization says a study of Israel Police investigations into violence committed by Israelis against Palestinians in the West Bank shows that from 2005 to September 2023, some **94% of investigations it was able to review were closed without an indictment, and just three percent ended in a conviction.** [Times of Israel](https://www.timesofisrael.com/ngo-says-only-6-of-police-probes-of-settler-violence-it-was-party-to-ended-in-charges/amp/)

   All sources linked above are Israeli.

5. Don’t anyone think for a second that this is evidence of the Isreali government suddenly gaining any morality.

   By indicting the rapists and abusers in this individual high profile case where there is video evidence of their crimes, the Isreali government can point to it and claim that they are internally investigating incidents like this

   When this was debated, members of the Knesset argued that there should not be any prosecution for this behaviour, led by the right to rape movement.

   The counter argument that was made, was not that torturing Palestinian prisoners was wrong, but that according to the International Criminal Court rules, the ICC have jurisdiction if there is no accountability mechanism within the state itself.

   The Knesset decided that they had to throw some of their torturers under the bus, to avoid the possibility that the ICC would claim jurisdiction and all of them would be at risk for prosecution.

   Now they can get their lawyers to claim at the ICC that they are taking action. There is no other motivation for this prosecution

6. Praise where praise is due. Prosecution of their own soldiers for these abuses is an effective deterant. In all the horror and pessimism about Israel’s recent actions and direction here is one tiny mote of hope and positivity.

7. “The reservists who sodomized and murdered Palestinians will be relieved of duty. We’re the only democracy in the middle east with the most moral army in the world.”

8. Anyone else think it’s disgusting how the New York War crimes will tell you graphically about how the prisoner was raped with a stick until they tore his ass, but won’t actually use the word rape?

   >At one point, one of the soldiers stabbed him with a “sharp object,” causing a tear in his rectal wall, it added.

9. I suppose it’s a step in the right direction and I want to give credit where it’s due, but I will reserve judgement until I see a conviction and punishment… which I believe will be somewhere in between a stern talking to or a light slap on the wrist.

10. It’s very hard to get a country to prosecute its own solders. This, at least, shows that Israel’s rule of law is still functional. There judicial system has never been a problem though, its even respected by many Palestinians. Too bad the Israeli government prevents most Palestinians from accessing it. Hell Bibi tried to dissolve it. Lets hope the victims of these solders get the justice they deserve. (I would like for a whole lot of justice to happen in the region, but any amount is at least nice.)

    TLDR: Israeli radicalism has had a hard time penetrating the court system.

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