65 percent believe army punishment is enough for reserve officers accused of sexual assault at Sde Teiman prison
Middle East Eye
A new poll has revealed that a majority of Israelis believe the prison officials accused of sexually assaulting a Palestinian detainee should not face criminal charges and should just be disciplined by the army.
Late last month, nine Israeli soldiers were arrested for the rape and sodomization of a Palestinian detained in Sde Teiman, a facility in southern Israel’s Negev desert.
Since Israel’s war on Gaza began in October, many Palestinians detained by Israeli forces have said they were sexually abused by troops at Sde Teiman.
However, no one had been arrested for the abuse until 29 July, when military police raided the facility, clashed with the soldiers and took them into custody.
The incident created a backlash in Israel, with a far-right mob, that included an MP and minister, storming the detention centre and a military court in protest against the arrests.
Five of those detained were released to house arrest on Tuesday, pending a potential decision by the army to file indictments.
On Sunday, the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) revealed that 65 percent of Israeli Jews thought that the five should be punished only by the army and not face criminal charges.
About 4,000 Palestinians have been detained from Gaza in Israel since the beginning of the war in Gaza in October. Most are detained and interrogated in the enclave, but many are brought to Sde Teiman, even if they are a non-combatant.
Torture, rape and murder have all been reported as rife at the facility, one of several facilities where Palestinians have been mistreated for decades.
On 15 July, Israel’s High Court issued a conditional order seeking to close Sde Teiman in response to the reports of abuse there.
The court’s order seeks an explanation as to ‘why the Sde Teiman detention facility is not operated in accordance with the conditions set forth in the law governing internment of unlawful combatants’.
Investigations by Middle East Eye, CNN and the New York Times found widespread examples of abuse at the centre.
The same INSS poll on Sunday also revealed that 47 percent of Israeli Jews believed Israel should not obey international law during the course of the current war in Gaza.