Protesters and far-right lawmakers from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition stormed two army bases on Monday, escalating tensions in Israel over the arrests of soldiers accused of abusing a Palestinian prisoner.
Prime Minister Netanyahu issued a statement calling for calm and condemning the demonstrators for breaking into Sde Teiman, a desert base in southern Israel. Both Israel’s defense minister and army chief of staff criticized the march on military sites. The sight of Jewish Israeli demonstrators targeting a military site, particularly during wartime, is notable as the army is one of Israel’s most trusted institutions.
The protests erupted following the arrests of soldiers at Sde Teiman, where suspected Hamas fighters involved in the October 7 attacks are being held. Israel’s military police reported raiding Sde Teiman after allegations of “serious abuse” of an inmate. Later that evening, riots spread to Beit Lid, where the soldiers were detained, according to police.
Police stated they dispersed the demonstrators at the second military base within minutes, with no immediate reports of arrests or injuries.
Sde Teiman, which also holds Palestinians captured during the nearly 10-month military campaign in Gaza, has been the subject of Supreme Court challenges by human rights watchdogs over alleged intolerable conditions. These claims have not garnered much sympathy in Israel, where outrage over the October 7 Hamas incursion remains high.
Local media reported the arrest of several army reservists deployed as wardens at Sde Teiman. Television footage showed what appeared to be military policemen, some with masked faces, leading a soldier away.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated that Israeli civilians attempted to break into Sde Teiman in protest against the arrests. Their actions are “extremely serious and against the law,” said Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi in a statement.
The military did not confirm any arrests, only noting that its judge advocate-general had ordered an investigation into the suspected abuse of a detainee.
“Take your hands off the reservists!” Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s far-right minister for national security, posted on social media platform X, as several members of his faction pledged to drive to Sde Teiman to prevent arrests. Ben-Gvir, head of the nationalist Jewish Power party, is part of Netanyahu’s coalition, which provides the ruling majority.
Yuli Edelstein, a member of Netanyahu’s Likud party and head of parliament’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, announced he would summon the judge advocate-general and military police chief for a hearing.
“Our soldiers are not criminals,” Edelstein said in a statement.
