Surveillance video released by Israeli media from inside an Israeli military base, Sde Teiman, allegedly shows soldiers sexually assaulting a Palestinian detainee. The U.S. State Department called the reports “horrific” and said the Israeli government should fully investigate them.
“There ought to be zero tolerance for sexual abuse, rape of any detainee, period,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said at a news briefing Wednesday, Aug. 7. “That’s a fundamental – it’s a fundamental belief of the United States. And if there are detainees who have been abused, if they – or detainees who have been sexually assaulted or raped, the government of Israel and the IDF need to fully investigate those actions and hold anyone responsible accountable to the full extent of the law.”
The White House also called the reports “deeply concerning.”
Miller said the Israel Defense Forces launched an investigation into the allegations and officials arrested a number of IDF soldiers supposedly involved.
The IDF has not responded publicly to the allegations.
The footage was first broadcast by Israeli Channel 12. At first, it shows detainees lying on the ground at the complex. It then shows a group of IDF soldiers taking a detainee to the corner of the facility where the alleged abuse took place.
The victim, believed to be a man in his 30s, was taken to an Israeli hospital in life-threatening condition with injuries to his upper body and rectum, according to CNN.
These are not the first such allegations to come from Sde Teiman. The group Physicians for Human Rights has been raising the alarm for months about alleged widespread abuses of Palestinian prisoners by Israel’s military at the military base.
The group said “hundreds have suffered medical neglect, and many have been subjected to abuse and torture” at the base and other facilities.
Back in July, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered an end to long-term imprisonment at the facility. Right now, Israel’s High Court is considering a petition to shut down Sde Teiman after the allegations of abuse and sexual assault surfaced.
