Israeli soldiers accused of abusing a Palestinian detainee at the Sde Teiman detention facility have publicly defended their actions, claiming they are being unfairly prosecuted and vowing to fight for justice. The case involves an incident from July 2024 where five reservists were charged with rape and later indicted for aggravated abuse after video footage showed soldiers assaulting a blindfolded Palestinian detainee.
The accused servicemen, wearing black masks to conceal their identities, appeared outside Israel’s Supreme Court in West Jerusalem on Monday, delivering a defiant statement to the press. One of the masked soldiers claimed that instead of appreciation, they received accusations, and instead of thanks, there was silence. He stated that they were put on trial in front of cameras as if the culprit was already decided, and they will not be silent, vowing to continue fighting for justice and winning because there is only one truth.
The controversy reignited last week after the IDF’s former top military prosecutor, Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, resigned following her admission that she had authorized the release of the footage. In her resignation letter, she stated she leaked the video to counter false propaganda and emphasized that, despite the detainees being terror operatives, there was a duty to investigate any reasonable suspicion of violence by IDF personnel. The scandal escalated further on Monday when a Tel Aviv court ordered the arrest and three-day detention of Tomer-Yerushalmi.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the leak perhaps the most serious public relations attack Israel has experienced since its founding. Defense Minister Israel Katz accused critics of the accused soldiers of spreading blood libels. The incident has drawn international criticism, including from a United Nations commission, which said last year it exposed only the tip of the iceberg regarding detainee abuse in Israeli military facilities.