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Alleged Israeli rapists claim they are being unfairly prosecuted
(MENAFN) Israeli soldiers accused of torturing and sexually assaulting a Palestinian detainee at the Sde Teiman detention facility have publicly defended themselves, insisting they are being unfairly targeted and pledging to “fight for justice.”
The case stems from an incident in July 2024 at the Sde Teiman military base in southern Israel, where five reservists were first charged with rape before the accusations were reduced to “aggravated abuse.” The charges followed the emergence of video footage appearing to show soldiers assaulting a blindfolded Palestinian prisoner, who reportedly suffered severe injuries, including a ruptured bowel and rectal trauma.
On Monday, the accused soldiers, their faces covered with black masks, appeared outside Israel’s Supreme Court in West Jerusalem to issue a statement.
“Instead of appreciation, we received accusations – instead of thanks, there was silence,” one of them said. “You didn’t let us respond, you didn’t let us explain. You put us on trial in front of the cameras as if you had already decided who the culprit is.”
“We will not be silent. We will continue to fight for justice,” he continued. “We will win, because there is only one truth.”
The controversy resurfaced after the recent resignation of Major General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, formerly the IDF’s top military prosecutor, who admitted authorizing the release of the footage. In her resignation letter, she explained that she leaked the video to counter “false propaganda,” adding that while the detainees were “terror operatives,” the army still had a responsibility to investigate credible allegations of misconduct by its personnel.
The situation intensified further on Monday when a Tel Aviv court ordered Tomer-Yerushalmi’s arrest and a three-day detention. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the leak as “perhaps the most serious public relations attack Israel has experienced since its founding,” while Defense Minister Israel Katz accused those criticizing the accused soldiers of spreading “blood libels.”
The incident has attracted widespread international attention, with a United Nations commission stating last year that it represented only the “tip of the iceberg” regarding alleged abuse of detainees in Israeli military detention centers.
The case stems from an incident in July 2024 at the Sde Teiman military base in southern Israel, where five reservists were first charged with rape before the accusations were reduced to “aggravated abuse.” The charges followed the emergence of video footage appearing to show soldiers assaulting a blindfolded Palestinian prisoner, who reportedly suffered severe injuries, including a ruptured bowel and rectal trauma.
On Monday, the accused soldiers, their faces covered with black masks, appeared outside Israel’s Supreme Court in West Jerusalem to issue a statement.
“Instead of appreciation, we received accusations – instead of thanks, there was silence,” one of them said. “You didn’t let us respond, you didn’t let us explain. You put us on trial in front of the cameras as if you had already decided who the culprit is.”
“We will not be silent. We will continue to fight for justice,” he continued. “We will win, because there is only one truth.”
The controversy resurfaced after the recent resignation of Major General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, formerly the IDF’s top military prosecutor, who admitted authorizing the release of the footage. In her resignation letter, she explained that she leaked the video to counter “false propaganda,” adding that while the detainees were “terror operatives,” the army still had a responsibility to investigate credible allegations of misconduct by its personnel.
The situation intensified further on Monday when a Tel Aviv court ordered Tomer-Yerushalmi’s arrest and a three-day detention. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the leak as “perhaps the most serious public relations attack Israel has experienced since its founding,” while Defense Minister Israel Katz accused those criticizing the accused soldiers of spreading “blood libels.”
The incident has attracted widespread international attention, with a United Nations commission stating last year that it represented only the “tip of the iceberg” regarding alleged abuse of detainees in Israeli military detention centers.
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