Israeli Labor Party leader calls for imprisoning officials involved in breaking into military bases

JERUSALEM

An Israeli opposition party leader on Tuesday called for imprisoning Israeli parliament members involved in the storming of the Sde Teiman Prison.

Yair Golan made separate statements on his X account following the incident of storming into two military bases on Monday by far-right activists who were joined by Israeli officials, including at least one minister and Knesset members.

At least one Israeli minister and Knesset members were seen among the crowds that stormed into two military bases to protest the arrest of soldiers accused of gang-raping a Palestinian detainee.

“The General Security Service should open an investigation into the extent of the involvement top police, MKs (Knesset members), and ministers in the government in the coup attempt that was carried out yesterday (Monday),” Golan said.

He noted that senior army officials confirmed that the “police refrained from sending police reinforcements to the Sde Teiman for three hours.”

Such investigation “may lead to the office of the Minister of National Security himself,” he added.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “bears direct responsibility for the establishment of armed militias whose entire purpose is to undermine the foundations of the rule of law,” Golan said in an earlier post on X.

He condemned the raid by Israeli parliament members as an attempt “to turn the Israeli army into armed militias.”

According to Israel’s Army Radio on Monday, 10 soldiers were detained for questioning as part of an investigation into the gang-rape of a Palestinian detainee from Gaza in the Sde Teiman Prison in southern Israel.

Several reports emerged of severe abuses against Palestinian detainees at the notorious facility since the start of Israel’s ongoing offensive on the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli army is believed to have detained thousands of Palestinians, including women, children, and medics since Oct. 7, 2023.

In recent months, the army has released dozens of Palestinian detainees from Gaza in deteriorating health conditions, with their bodies bearing torture scars.

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian group Hamas.

More than 39,360 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and nearly 91,000 injured, according to local health authorities.

Over nine months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar

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