What happened at Israeli detention centre? Israeli far-right mobs storm IDF base in riots ‘bordering on anarchy’

Chaos erupted in Israel last night as a mob of far-right activists broke into a second military compound following the arrests of nine soldiers accused of abusing a Palestinian inmate.

The protesters, including at least two far-right members of the Knesset, forced their way into Sde Temain base and the IDF’s Beit Lid base on Monday night in what Israeli military chief Herzi Halevi condemned as “unlawful behaviours bordering on anarchy.”

The rioters were filmed earlier in the day breaking into the Sde Teiman detention facility in southern Israel where Palestinian prisoners, including members of Hamas' elite Nukhba force, are known to be held, and where the accused IDF reservists were arrested after a suspected Hamas terrorist was left with severe injuries after reports of sexual and physical abuse.

Israeli soldiers and police clash with right wing protesters after they broke into the Beit Lid army base over the detention for questioning of military reservists who were suspected of abuse of a detainee on 29 July, 2024. (Photo by OREN ZIV/AFP via Getty Images)AFP via Getty Images

Not long after, protesters broke into the Beit Lid military compound 60 km away in central Israel where the soldiers were believed to have been taken for questioning. Israeli Police said the protesters clashed with security forces before being cleared out of the vicinity.

The Times of Israel reported that of the far-right Knesset members taking part in the riots, Heritage Minister Amichay Eliyahu of Otzma Yehudit and Religious Zionism MK Zvi Sukkot were among those in the crowds outside Sde Teiman on Monday.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog condemned the riots outside Sde Teiman base, but their words did little to prevent the storming of the second base later on Monday evening.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant strongly denounced the “intrusion of civilians into IDF bases,” saying the behaviour “seriously harms Israeli democracy and plays into the hands of our enemy during war.”

But the protesters leaped to the defense of the reservists accused of abusing a Palestinian prisoner and expressed outrage at their arrest. One defender was far-right politician and government minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who said it was “shameful” for Israel to arrest “our best heroes.” Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich added that “IDF soldiers deserve respect” and must not be treated as “criminals.”

The nine reservists are expected to face a military court hearing. The Times of Israel reported that a petition to the High Court of Justice by the Association of Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) has succeeded in convincing the state to close Sde Teiman over reports of abuse – including the use of physical restraints, beatings, torture, neglect and arbitrary punishments – at the facility.

The state said in May that the IDF would begin to phase out the use of Sde Teiman.

According to the Times of Israel, Palestinian officials are demanding an international investigation into the most recent incident of abuse at Sde Teiman. Palestinian politician Mustafa Barghouti, who sits in the Palestinian Legislative Council, said that Palestinians do not trust Israeli military courts, adding that “the attempt to prevent the investigation of Israeli prison guards and soldiers who perpetrated sexual crimes is evidence of the rise of fundamentalist Zionist fascism.”