Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces multiple fires to put out as Israel weighs its response to the weekend attack launched from Lebanon, which killed twelve youths in the Golan Heights. Simultaneously, a new crisis emerges at the Sde Teiman detention base, about 29 kilometers from the Gaza Strip border. On Monday, military police raided the facility to detain nine soldiers suspected of abusing a Palestinian detainee in what critics have called a troubling chapter at a site once referred to by some as a version of a Guantánamo in Israel. Outraged demonstrators, including Knesset members, gathered near the base to protest the arrest of the troops.
Chaos has gripped Sde Teiman. During the Gaza war, this desert facility has been described by some as a place where Gazan detainees were held in crowded conditions. Reports from both some Israeli staff and released Palestinian detainees have alleged systemic abuses and rights violations at the center, including claims of physical and psychological torture. A security source indicated that the detainee at the center of the arrests was moved to a hospital with serious injuries to a private area, leaving him unable to walk.
Netanyahu’s condemnation
“The military police have come to arrest us because we are responsible for the terrorists of Nukhba,” stated a soldier from the al-Qassam Brigades, the Hamas wing that organized the October 7 attack. “All Israelis should take to the streets for us; I won’t accept this shame of being arrested,” the soldier reportedly added, asserting he had given his life for his country. Soldiers at the base refused to evacuate and fortified the site, sparking clashes with arresting police. Some officers even used pepper spray in the confrontation. A recruit warned that they would stand together to prevent the army from detaining their colleagues.
News of the arrests drew dozens to the base, including Zionist religious party representatives, reservists, and other civilians. After entering the facility forcefully, protesters chanted a traditional Jewish slogan of solidarity, raised flags, and banged on doors. Eventually, police escorted them outside the enclosure where protests continued. Netanyahu’s office issued a statement calling for calm and condemning the raid on a military base, urging restraint while investigations proceed.
“More terrible than Abu Ghraib or Guantánamo”
“Even in moments of anger, the law applies to everyone,” Defense Minister Yoav Gallant asserted, condemning the intrusion on the base. He emphasized that properly authorized investigations must proceed while safeguarding soldiers’ dignity. “Entering a military base and disrupting order is grave, unacceptable in any circumstance; we are at war and such actions endanger national security,” the chief of staff, Herzl Halevi, added. The incident reportedly occurred about three weeks earlier, after the detained Gazan detainee was found in critical condition at the base and transported to a hospital for treatment and surgery. Ten suspects have been identified, nine of whom were detained this Monday near Sde Teiman.
Since the start of the ground invasion of Gaza, numerous accounts of torture against Palestinian detainees have surfaced. More than four thousand Palestinians have been arrested by Israel in Gaza and transferred to this base. Some have been released, but many remain held on Israeli soil. Analysts and observers have noted that the scene at Sde Teiman raises questions about the treatment of detainees and the procedures surrounding investigations, prompting calls for independent oversight and accountability. Various voices in the international community have urged transparency and due process, while human rights advocates continue to document alleged abuses and push for reforms at detention facilities in the region.
[Citation: Independent reporting and rights organizations have highlighted ongoing concerns at detention sites in the region. Attribution to multiple sources provides a composite view of events as they unfolded, with ongoing inquiries and statements from Israeli officials and international observers.]