An Israeli soldier was sentenced to seven months in prison after admitting to severely abusing Palestinians at the notorious Sde Teiman detention facility near the Gaza border, the army announced Thursday.
"The defendant was convicted for several incidents in which he punched the detainees with his fists and used his weapon while they were handcuffed and blindfolded," the army said in a statement.
"These acts were committed in the presence of other soldiers, some of whom called on him to stop, and were even documented on the defendant's mobile phone," it added, referring to the incidents that the military said took place at the Sde Teiman facility.
The military court determined that "additional masked soldiers participated in the abuse," but their identities remain unknown.
"The court found the defendant's actions to be severe and aggravated by the circumstances – exploiting his position of authority over bound and blindfolded detainees over a period exceeding three months," the army said.
In October, a U.N. commission found thousands of detainees were subjected to "widespread and systematic abuse" in Israeli military camps and detention facilities that amounted to "war crime and crime against humanity of torture."
Israel called the accusations "outrageous," adding it was "fully committed to international legal standards regarding the treatment of detainees."
In July 2024, a report published by the U.N. Human Rights Office said since the start of the Gaza war, thousands of Palestinians were taken from Gaza to Israel, "usually shackled and blindfolded."
The following month, Israeli human rights group B'Tselem said more than a dozen prison facilities were being used as "de facto torture camps."
At the time, the Israeli military said "any abuse of detainees, whether during arrest or interrogation, is illegal and against IDF (Israeli military) guidelines, and is strictly prohibited.
The military said it "categorically rejects allegations of systematic abuse, including sexual abuse" in its detention facilities.
