JerusalemNine Israeli soldiers have been arrested as part of an investigation into alleged mistreatment of an inmate at a prison holding Palestinians held in Gaza since the start of the war on October 7, the army said Monday.
A military spokesman confirmed to AFP that nine soldiers had been “arrested for questioning” in the case.
According to Israeli media, the prisoner is a Palestinian who was allegedly mistreated at the Sde Teiman detention centre in the Negev desert in southern Israel.
The spokesman had previously said the investigation was opened “following suspicions of significant ill-treatment of a detainee at the Sde Teiman detention centre”, without giving further details.
Upon hearing of the soldiers’ arrest, several Israelis, including ultra-nationalist MP Zvi Sukkot, tried to enter the prison to show their support, but were repelled by police, according to images broadcast on television.
Television later broadcast images of other protesters in front of the military base where the detained soldiers were being interrogated.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and army chief General Herzi Halevi condemned the spontaneous protests.
The Sde Teiman detention centre was set up to house Palestinians detained in the Gaza Strip following the outbreak of the war between Israel and Hamas, which has left more than 39,000 Palestinians dead since 7 October.
Amnesty International urged Israel this month to “end mass incommunicado detention and torture of Palestinians in Gaza.”
The NGO said it had collected testimony from 27 Palestinians who reported that during their detention they were subjected to “torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.”
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– 2024-08-02 10:11:57
