Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir Reinstates Five Soldiers Accused of Abusing Palestinian Detainee

Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir approved the return to reserve duty of five soldiers accused of sexually abusing a Palestinian detainee at the Sde Teiman detention facility, after Israeli military prosecutors dropped the charges.

“Israeli military chief Eyal Zamir has authorised five soldiers accused of sexually assaulting a Palestinian inmate in the notorious Sde Teiman detention camp to return to reserve service after charges against them were dropped, according to Israeli media reports”

Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera reported that Zamir authorized the five soldiers to return to reserve service “after charges against them were dropped,” while noting that an internal military inquiry into their conduct remained ongoing.

Al Jazeera

TRT World likewise said Zamir allowed members of Unit 100 accused of abusing a detainee from Gaza to “resume reserve duty after charges against them were dropped,” even though “the army has not yet conducted a command investigation.”

Haaretz described the same decision as the IDF reinstating reservists accused of abusing a Gazan detainee at Sde Teiman “following the dismissal of the indictment against them,” while emphasizing that there was “absence of a completed command-level investigation.”

The reinstatement came with an Israeli military position that the investigation would not stop service: Al Jazeera cited an Israeli army statement saying, “The investigation does not prevent them from continuing to serve … the command-level investigation will be completed as soon as possible.”

Thecradle.co added that the decision allows reservists implicated in the assault to resume service while the military says its internal inquiry “will be completed soon,” and it framed the case as involving Unit 100 soldiers charged after footage broadcast by Israeli television showed abuse at Sde Teiman.

The reinstatement followed the dropping of charges against the five soldiers, a move multiple outlets tied to the handling of evidence and the detainee’s later release to Gaza.

Al Jazeera said the soldiers were charged with aggravated assault and causing severe injury after footage broadcast by Israeli television showed them abusing a Palestinian man in Sde Teiman, and it described the military’s own indictment as including stabbing “with a sharp object near his rectum,” causing cracked ribs, a punctured lung and an internal tear.

Haaretz

Itay Offir, the military advocate general, told Haaretz that indictments were scrapped partly because of “complexities in the evidentiary structure” and “difficulties” arising from the detainee’s release to the Gaza Strip.

TRT World similarly said the head of the military defence counsel, Itai Ofir, stated that charges were dismissed due to “complexities in the evidentiary structure” and “difficulties” arising from the detainee’s release to Gaza.

Thecradle.co added that the indictment was withdrawn last month after Itai Ofir ordered it, citing “complexity regarding the existing evidentiary infrastructure,” and it stressed that “no command-level investigation” had been completed.

Haaretz framed the same sequence as the IDF approving return to reserve duty “following the dismissal of the indictment against them,” while pointing to the “absence of a completed command-level investigation into their conduct.”

Multiple outlets detailed the injuries described in the case and the medical account of the detainee’s condition.

Al Jazeera said a doctor at the facility, Yoel Donchin, told Haaretz he was so shocked by the Palestinian inmate’s condition that he initially assumed it was the work of a rival armed group.

It also reported that the military’s own indictment described soldiers stabbing the detainee “near his rectum,” with cracked ribs, a punctured lung and an internal tear.

TRT World said the indictment described the soldiers beat the detainee, dragged him on the ground, stepped on his body, electrocuted him, and that “one soldier stabbed him in the buttocks,” resulting in broken ribs and a punctured lung.

Thecradle.co provided additional specifics, saying the soldiers beat the detainee, dragged him across the ground, stepped on his body, and used a taser against him, including to the head, and it described one soldier stabbing him in the anus, causing a tear in the rectal wall.

It quoted Professor Yoel Donchin describing the injuries: “He arrived, and we saw he had a stab wound in the anus,” and it added, “I saw a wounded man who had been abused and beaten severely.”

Rights groups condemned the decision to drop charges and reinstate the accused soldiers, framing it as impunity for grave crimes.

Al Jazeera quoted Amnesty International calling the outcome “yet another unconscionable chapter in the Israeli legal system’s long-standing history of granting impunity to perpetrators of grave crimes against Palestinians.”

TRT World

It also said Amnesty International argued that “Since the start of Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip, and despite overwhelming evidence of widespread torture and abuse, including sexual violence, against Palestinians in Israeli detention centers, only one Israeli soldier has so far been sentenced over torturing a Palestinian detainee,” according to the rights group’s statement.

Al Jazeera further reported that Palestinians released from Israeli detention have reported suffering widespread abuse while in custody, and it cited a February report by the Committee to Protect Journalists describing “routine beatings, starvation and sexual assault” in Israeli custody.

Thecradle.co asserted that Israeli courts dropped charges “despite video and medical evidence of the assault,” and it described the case as one where “the charges were later dropped after Israeli Chief Military Prosecutor Itai Ofir ordered the indictment withdrawn last month.”

TRT World said the March dropping of charges drew “widespread criticism from human rights groups,” and it reiterated that the military prosecutor dropped charges due to “complexities in the evidentiary structure” and “difficulties” from the detainee’s release to Gaza.

The reinstatement of the Sde Teiman reservists sits within a wider set of claims about abuse and sexual violence in Israeli detention, with outlets pointing to additional reporting and legislation.

“Israeli military chief Eyal Zamir has authorised five soldiers accused of sexually assaulting a Palestinian inmate in the notorious Sde Teiman detention camp to return to reserve service after charges against them were dropped, according to Israeli media reports”

Al Jazeera

Thecradle.co said the case comes “amid a growing body of testimonies and investigations pointing to widespread torture and systematic sexual violence embedded within Israeli prisons,” and it cited a report compiled by Euro-Med Monitor that describes an “organized state policy” of sexual violence inside Israeli prisons.

Al Jazeera

It quoted the report’s language that “Sexual violence against Palestinians in Israeli prisons and detention centers constitutes a de facto state policy, used as a tool of subjugation and destruction,” and it said the report described “a sharp escalation since October 7, 2023.”

Thecradle.co also said that in late March the Israeli Knesset passed legislation mandating death by hanging as the default punishment for Palestinian prisoners convicted in military courts.

Al Jazeera, meanwhile, reported that Israeli Army Radio said some reservists had already returned to active duty, including deployment to combat roles, and it described the command-level investigation as continuing.

TRT World added a prison-population figure, stating “More than 9,600 Palestinians are held in Israeli prisons, including women and children,” and it said they face “torture, starvation, and medical neglect, leading to the deaths of dozens.”