The Israel Police on Sunday summoned Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu (Otzma Yehudit) and MKs Nissim Vaturi (Likud) and Zvi Sukkot (Religious Zionist Party) for an investigation under caution over their involvement in a breach of the Sde Teiman IDF base in July of last year.
The breach occurred on July 29, after the IDF Military Police Criminal Investigation Division (MPCID) raided the base and arrested reservist soldiers on suspicion of sexually abusing a detainee. Some of the detainees at Sde Teiman at the time were reportedly Hamas terrorists who participated in the October 7 massacre.
In the wake of the arrests, a group of civilians, joined by Eliyahu and the two lawmakers, arrived at the base to protest the detentions and demand the soldiers’ release.
Shortly thereafter, they overwhelmed security officers and entered the base without authorization and remained there for hours, marching and chanting. Some chanted “death to Arabs.”
Later that day, protesters also broke into the military base in Beit Lid, where the soldiers were believed to have been held.
The Attorney General’s Office approved the launching of a criminal investigation into the three politicians in March. MKs enjoy immunity from investigation for actions committed as part of their parliamentary work. The officials in question thereby argued in response that their immunity applied in this case as well.
Both Eliyahu and Vaturi indicated on Sunday that they would not respect the summons.
Eliyahu said in response to the summons that he had acted in the soldiers’ defense and that “nothing would deter” him from continuing to defend IDF soldiers against law enforcement.
Vaturi accused the Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara of selective enforcement, writing on Facebook that he would not respect the summons until she allowed investigations into a series of left-wing figures as well.
He added that he “did not recognize the attorney-general authority” and that he enjoyed parliamentary immunity from prosecution in this case.
Sukkot, in a video statement, accused the investigative team and the military advocate-general of harming national security by “demonizing” IDF soldiers without sufficient evidence.
He made his statement at Sde Teiman, since he happened to be there on Sunday as part of a tour with members of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
Military prosecution investigated abuse against detainees at Sde Teiman since Oct. 7
Military prosecution has investigated several reports of abuse against detainees at Sde Teiman since the Hamas massacre. On February 6, a reservist who served as a guard at the facility was convicted of abusing detainees. The soldier admitted to the abuse, and documentation of it was found on his personal phone.
On February 19, the army indicted five reservists for unlawfully assaulting and abusing a prisoner, which led to severe abrasions, a punctured lung, and an internal tear in the rectum.
Reports in local and foreign media outlets have quoted testimonies from released detainees, which included torture, harassment, and deprivation of sleep and food. Military officials have said that the facility operates according to the law and that all violations are investigated.
Female soldiers stationed at Sde Teiman have complained of verbal sexual harassment by detainees. The committee’s tour of the site on Sunday came in response to these complaints.