Riots at IDF bases following detention of reservists for alleged assault of Palestinian prisoner

A series of riots broke out at IDF bases at Sde Yemen and Beit Lied, following the detention of nine reservists suspected of sexually abusing a detained Palestinian terror suspect.

The incidents began after the publication of videos showing military policemen confronting the soldiers at the Sde Yemen field base in southern Israel.

More than a thousand protestors are estimated to have gathered outside Beit Lid base, where the soldiers were taken to be questioned. In both protests, media teams that came to cover the events were attacked, and photographers were rescued by the police.

The demonstrators were supported by a number of Knesset members and ministers from the ruling Likud, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit, and religious Zionism parties, who took part in the protests against the arrests.

Gvir, whose remit includes the Israel Police and Israel Prison Service, said: “The spectacle of military police officers coming to arrest our best heroes at Sde Teiman is nothing less than shameful. I recommend that the defense minister, the [IDF] chief of staff and the army authorities back the fighters and learn from the prison service. The summer camps and patience for the terrorists are over. Fighters should get full backing.”

Israeli news-site Ynet reports that IDF battalions had to be pulled from the Gaza Strip to deal the riots. The outlet adds that Defense Minister Yoav Galant has called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to order an “immediate investigation to examine whether Ben Gvir prevented or delayed police action in response to the break into the bases. Gallant also asked Netanyahu to act against the coalition members who participated in the riots near Sde Yemen and Beit Lied.”

Ynet and “Yediot Ahronoth” reporter Ilana Kuriel was attacked by dozens of protesters near the Sde Yemen camp in the south, after she arrived to cover the riot that broke out in the area. According to her, the protesters “pushed me and spat on me, called me a slut. Arab whore. Traitor. They threw my phone away twice, I’m in tears.”

Israel’s Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, said: “This is not a riot, this is an attempted coup of an armed militia against a weak prime minister who is unable to take control of his government.”

Chief of Staff, Major General Herzi Halevi, has also condemned the incident.

He said: “The incident of breaking into the Sde Yemen base is extremely serious and against the law. Breaking into a military base and disrupting order there are serious behavior that is not acceptable in any way. We are at war, and actions of this type endanger the security of the country. I strongly condemn the incident and we are working to restore order at the base.”