JNS
The alleged crime the soldiers are accused of committing, said attorney Nati Rom, "occurred in an open space, not in some dark isolated room, and the soldiers did not do anything sexual to this ... high-ranking Hamas officer."
Protesters, including right-wing members of Knesset, took part on Monday in heated demonstrations at the entrance to two Israel Defense Forces bases, with some even managing to break inside.
The first event occurred when masked members of the Military Police Corps took nine IDF reservists into custody, accusing them of abusing, possibly sexually, a Hamas Nukhba held at the Sde Teiman detention facility near Beersheva for his role in the Oct. 7 massacre. Clashes then erupted between protesters and military police.
One of the protesters was Religious Zionist Party MK Zvi Sukkot, who managed to infiltrate the base. He released a statement to JNS justifying his actions.
"I entered the Sde Teiman base using my parliamentary immunity as part of my duties as a Knesset member to oversee the work of the executive authority [the branch of government responsible for the day-to-day administrative management of the state's bureaucracy]," he stated.
"My office hasn't heard about the [current] Knesset recess. I will continue to perform my duties as an elected official, either from the Knesset plenum, from the north, from the south or from wherever I am required to do so," he added.
After being detained, the nine reservists were taken to the Motta Gur base, in Beit Lid, near Netanya, for interrogation. There, more than 1,000 angry demonstrators had gathered, among them MK Tali Gotliv from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party. She had released a video on X encouraging the public to arrive to protest the incarceration of the reservists.
The soldiers' hearings were set to begin on Tuesday afternoon.
In a statement released to JNS, the IDF Spokesperson's Unit cited comments by IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi relating to the clashes.
“The break-in at the Sde Teiman base is extremely serious and against the law," said Halevi. "Breaking into a military base and disturbing the order there is grave behavior that is not acceptable in any way. We are in the midst of a war, and actions of this type endanger the security of the state. I strongly condemn the incident, and we are working to restore order at the base."
Halevy continued: "I fully support the Military Advocate General’s Corps and the Military Police Criminal Investigation Division in investigating every incident brought to their attention. This is their duty, regardless of rank or position. It is precisely these investigations that protect our soldiers in Israel and the world and preserve IDF values. These investigations are conducted while respecting the dignity of our soldiers, whom we command.”
Attorney Nati Rom, from the Honenu legal-aid organization that is representing three of the reservist defendants, told JNS that his clients are innocent of all charges.
"These are brave soldiers, with most of them serving since Oct. 7 with the difficult task of having to guard the Nukhba terrorists at Sde Teiman," Rom said, explaining: "The incident in question took place about a month ago, when these soldiers were tasked with searching prisoners. This particular Nukhba terrorist, who is a high-ranking Hamas officer, resisted and was stopped by the soldiers."
The alleged crime the reservists are accused of committing, he said, "occurred in an open space, not in some dark isolated room, and the soldiers did not do anything sexual, or close to sexual, to this person. Even the medic on duty acknowledged this. In fact, we're talking about a Nukhba Nazi and rapist, who attacked and wounded an IDF soldier."
He added, "I'm confident my clients will be exonerated and released over the next few days, but it's hard to see brave soldiers with a stain on their reputations."
He also shared that on Tuesday, the chief of staff at the IDF Personnel Directorate, admitted to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that the manner in which the nine reservists were detained was erroneous and would not happen again.
Israel Ganz, head of the Binyamin Regional Council and chairman of the Yesha Council, released a statement expressing his support for IDF soldiers while criticizing those who broke into the army bases. He also took the Military Police Investigation Unit to task.
Ganz said, "The concern for IDF soldiers, certainly in times of war, is understandable and clear. We strengthen and back them up—both conscripted soldiers and reservists—but the events from Monday night should not have happened. One does not break into IDF military bases or harm soldiers and members of the security forces for any reason."
He added, "Unfortunately, the unwise conduct of the Military Police Investigation Unit was met with a lack of confidence in the law-enforcement system and the phenomena of selective enforcement, which have been felt even more strongly in recent times among certain sectors of the public. Law enforcement would do well not to serve a particular agenda, and instead undergo serious introspection."
