The Israeli military announced on Tuesday the deployment of two battalions to protect an army base in central Israel from civilian attacks, amidst increasing internal conflict over the military’s decision to detain nine soldiers suspected of abusing a Palestinian prisoner.
This move followed riots on Monday at the base, as well as a second military complex, where right-wing demonstrators forced their way inside to protest the arrests. Additional unrest is anticipated as a military court is set to decide on Tuesday whether to extend the soldiers’ detentions.
The decision to deploy troops within Israel raises concerns about the military’s ability to simultaneously manage conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon, where cross-border tensions have intensified following a deadly rocket attack from Lebanon that killed 12 children and teenagers in an Israeli-controlled town. The situation underscores deep divisions among Israelis, including within the military, regarding the treatment and punishment of Palestinians accused of involvement in the Hamas-led October 7 attacks and the subsequent ground war in Gaza.
The conflict also highlights a broader debate in Israel about the future and character of its democracy, particularly the role of the judiciary and other watchdog institutions.
Since the onset of the war, the Israeli military has detained at least 4,000 Gazans, primarily from inside Gaza, bringing them to Sde Teiman, a military base in southern Israel, for interrogation. More than 1,000 were later deemed civilians and returned to Gaza, while others remain detained on suspicion of ties to Hamas and its Nukhba commando brigade.
Former detainees and some Israeli soldiers have alleged routine abuse of Gazans held at Sde Teiman, with at least 35 detainees reportedly dying either at the site or shortly after leaving it.
Amidst international scrutiny of Israel’s wartime conduct, some Israelis have called for improvements at the base, leading rights groups to petition the Supreme Court for its closure. Military prosecutors have also become more proactive in investigating allegations of abuse. However, many Israelis argue against this scrutiny, believing soldiers should not be punished for their treatment of prisoners suspected of committing atrocities during the October 7 attacks, which killed approximately 1,200 people.
Tensions escalated on Monday when military police detained nine soldiers at Sde Teiman on suspicion of abusing a Palestinian detainee and transferred them to Beit Lid, a second military base.
Professor Yoel Donchin, a military doctor at the field hospital in Sde Teiman, said the Palestinian detainee had been brought to the hospital three weeks prior with signs of abuse. The detainee was sent to a larger civilian hospital for treatment and the military police were informed of the potential mistreatment.
While the military did not provide details of the abuse allegations, Nati Rom, a lawyer representing three of the soldiers from the right-wing legal aid group Honenu, stated they were being questioned on suspicion of severe sexual abuse. Israeli media reported the prisoner was hospitalized with a serious injury, but this claim was not confirmed by the professor or the military.
The arrests prompted right-wing protesters, supported by at least three lawmakers from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition, to gather outside the base, with some forcing their way inside. Others later broke into the Beit Lid base.
The unrest alarmed senior politicians, who warned that the protesters’ actions and the support from parts of the ruling coalition threatened the rule of law and national unity.
“Do we want a state here, or militias that do whatever they want?” former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett wrote on social media, calling for calm and emphasizing the need to “prevent the dissolution of the State of Israel.” He described the riots as a “greatest gift” to Israel’s enemies.
However, several ministers and right-wing lawmakers expressed support for the protesters, suggesting that the need to punish Hamas outweighed the military’s obligation to hold itself accountable.
