https://arab.news/2mw6m
Israeli politics is no stranger to scandals that shake the entire country. But the case revolving around Sde Teiman, where five Israeli soldiers allegedly abused a Palestinian detainee, surpasses the worst nightmare of the unholy trinity of moral bankruptcy, anarchic autocracy and reputational harm that the current government has brought on the country and its society and continues to do so with each day it remains in power.
The mere idea that, by the end of this alarming affair, it is Advocate General Maj. Gen Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, who was fulfilling her duty to bring to justice those who have evidently committed a crime, might end up in jail for leaking a video of the abuse, while those who seem on this clip to be committing this abuse may well walk free, is shocking and unnerving to the extreme. Her principal “crime” is that she wanted justice for a detainee who allegedly suffered horrific injuries at the hands of soldiers who served as prison guards, not to justify allegedly lying in the process.
In the flood of political and media spins around the leak of the video clip, there is a danger it would be forgotten that this affair came to light because a detained Palestinian at Sde Teiman, Israel’s version of the notorious Guantanamo Bay detention camp, was hospitalized with broken ribs and a tear in the wall of his rectum, raising the suspicion of rape. The suspicion is that this happened after he was reportedly beaten and assaulted by Israeli army reservists of “Force 100,” a military police reserve unit tasked with guarding the detention camp.
This horrific incident only came to light thanks to an Israeli doctor who treated the Gazan detainee after he was admitted to the field hospital adjacent to the camp. The doctor was so shocked by his condition that he ordered him to be admitted to a regular hospital for urgent treatment — and bravely reported it. The incident drew attention to the mounting evidence of the deplorable conditions in Sde Teiman, where there is a mixture of Nukhba who were involved in the Oct. 7 attack, Hamas operatives and Gazan residents whose reasons for being detained there are unclear to say the least.
This horrific incident only came to light thanks to an Israeli doctor who treated the Gazan detainee
Yossi Mekelberg
The very fact that people are being detained for long periods without access to lawyers or international monitoring bodies such as the International Committee for the Red Cross, let alone who have not been charged or tried in a court of justice that meets international fairness standards, is in contravention of international law. Despite reports, including by the UN and several human rights organizations, of torture, extreme inflicted hunger, humiliation and sexual violence that human rights group B’Tselem says must be considered a policy of “institutionalized abuse,” investigations into these allegations are rare, as is any pursuit of charges.
In the case of the detainee who ended up in hospital and in the midst of a political storm, whose name is unknown and who was mysteriously released to return to Gaza, credit must go to the military police for immediately opening an investigation, which eventually led to charges in February of this year against five soldiers for aggravated abuse and causing serious bodily harm to the detainee, but not rape.
However, the arrest of the soldiers opened a Pandora’s box, including within the military, of a conflict between those who see abiding by the law as a fundamental constitutional principle and those within the coalition government and their supporters who are taking the country down the path to autocracy. For them, the law is whatever the government decides is the law — a view that is increasingly tainted by a scary mixture of its messianic-theocratic-fascistic approach.
After the arrest of the suspects in July 2024 became public knowledge, a mob of far-right activists and lawmakers — yes, MKs from Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling coalition —broke, needless to say illegally, into Sde Teiman and later stormed the Beit Lid base where the suspects were being held and questioned. Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir, who is responsible for the prison service, instead of immediately stopping this anarchy, inflamed the situation, stating: “The spectacle of military police officers coming to arrest our best heroes at Sde Teiman is nothing less than shameful.” Thus, those suspected of aggravated abuse are Ben-Gvir’s heroes, by his own admission.
Ben-Gvir, who is responsible for the prison service, instead of immediately stopping this anarchy, inflamed the situation
Yossi Mekelberg
The defense minister at the time, Yoav Gallant, and the army’s chief of staff, both of whom condemned this shameful behavior, were on the way out of politics and the military, respectively.
Equally shameful was the behavior of Netanyahu, who did not assert his authority, if he had any of it left vis-a-vis his right-wing coalition partners, and instead allowed and, in many cases, led the incitements against the military advocate general.
Until last week, it was not known who authorized the release of the video clip but, when it came to light, Tomer-Yerushalmi immediately resigned, taking full responsibility for her actions. She was put in police custody for investigation, not only for allowing the leak but also for, in effect, lying to Israel’s High Court of Justice about her actions.
Legally speaking, Tomer-Yerushalmi probably, by her own admission, broke the law and she has already paid the price by resigning her position. But who knows if she will get a fair trial in the toxic atmosphere that members of the coalition government have created, accusing her of facilitating a blood libel against the indicted soldiers. The prime minister went further, accusing her of being the source of “the worst public relations disaster Israel has ever experienced.”
Yes, Tomer-Yerushalmi was wrong, not necessarily for leaking the footage, as she was defending herself and the military justice system from the accusation of stitching up soldiers and serving Hamas’ interests. However, it is Netanyahu, his government and those who allow the practice of torture in Israeli prisons who are the source of a never-ending public relations disaster and who debase and disgrace the country. The problem regarding what can be seen in this video clip is not that it has become public; rather, it is the attempt to cover it up and prevent justice that harms Israel and destroys the moral fabric of the military and the country.
When all is done and dusted and Netanyahu and his coalition partners are confined to the dustbin of history, this is what they will be shamefully remembered for.
- Yossi Mekelberg is professor of international relations and an associate fellow of the MENA Program at Chatham House. X: @YMekelberg