It is a depressing but important fact of life that every community, and every nation, has those who shame it. That applies to Israel as much as to any other country on Earth.

If confirmed by an investigation, the alleged serious and unforgivable abuse of Gazan detainees at the Sde Teiman military compound will certainly shame Israel. But unlike in most of Israel’s neighbours, where state-sanctioned violence is meted out without any comeback, when the law is broken in Israel by those acting on behalf of the state, those responsible can be held accountable and punished.

Former presidents and prime ministers have served time in prison. The current prime minister is in the middle of a court hearing. Any soldier believed to have abused a prisoner will be similarly put on trial. The rule of law is to be upheld in Israel without fear or favour.

But it is not just the abuse that has shamed Israel.

The protests by a far-right mob designed to prevent the soldiers accused of abuse from being detained by military police is a worrying portent of where Israel may be heading if the far-right is not contained.

The entry into government of Smotrich and Ben-Gvir was a bad moment for Israel, and its baleful impact continues.

Israel is a proud democracy, but we have seen many times elsewhere how vital it is that the rules underlining democracy are honoured and enforced.

Mob rule is inimical to freedom, and freedom must be protected at all costs.