- 'Basically, there was no law in this facility,' Israeli analyst Shaiel Ben-Ephraim tells Anadolu, pointing to multiple cases of sexual abuse, electrocution, deplorable sanitation, and crippling torture

- 'I would call the International Court of Justice and the other international institutes to investigate what Israel is doing in Gaza and what Israel is doing to prisoners of war,' says activist Maoz Inon

ISTANBUL

In the wake of harrowing accounts of abuse and torture from a prison in the Negev Desert, Israeli experts are demanding the immediate closure of the detention facility, calling for accountability and prosecution of soldiers involved in abuse.

Situated in southern Israel, Sde Teiman Prison is part of a military installation that has been used to detain Palestinians from Gaza since Oct 7.

Notorious for widespread abuse of detainees, it made headlines once again on Monday when local media reported that a Palestinian detainee was gang raped by several Israeli soldiers and taken to a hospital after suffering severe injuries that left him unable to walk.

— If they try to peek or try to stand up straight, sometimes they're beaten

— On at least two occasions, prisoners died because of beatings

— They are kept blindfolded and often crouching for several hours a day

— They died for all kinds of health reasons because things… pic.twitter.com/P47h0nLLX7

— Anadolu English (@anadoluagency) July 31, 2024

Following the incident, nine soldiers were detained, and the country’s military police launched an investigation.

Criticizing the conditions at the facility and the actions of Israeli soldiers, Israeli analyst Shaiel Ben-Ephraim called for its closure.

"This is a facility that has to be shut down. This has to be stopped."

Prisoner abuse

In recent months, Sde Teiman had been in the news for all the wrong reasons, with reports surfacing of mass abuse of Palestinian prisoners.

Around 36 Palestinians have died in the prison already since the beginning of the war in Gaza.

Ben-Ephraim, who had previously served in the Israeli army, said the facility was similar to other notorious detention centers.

"Basically, there was no law in this facility," he said, drawing parallels between the practices of Israeli soldiers at Sde Teiman and what the US had done "in Abu Ghraib or in Guantanamo … it's very reminiscent of that."

On the condition of the detainees, the analyst said they are kept blindfolded and crouching for several hours a day, "around 18 hours a day," and "maybe allowed to stand for four to six hours a day."

Being forced to stay in positions for so many hours has led detainees to lose limbs.

In many cases, the detainees are blindfolded the entire day.

"If they try to peek or try to stand up straight, sometimes they're beaten. In cases where they're trying to get information out of people, they'll sometimes be electrocuted," said Ben-Ephraim.

On this particular incident of sexual abuse, the Israeli expert said he was aware of two other detainees who had objects inserted into intimate areas.

He pointed out that, in many cases, the "bad conditions," including deplorable sanitation, at the facility are what cause inmates the worst harm.

Lack of medical assistance is also a major issue at Sde Teiman, one that can sometimes prove fatal for prisoners, said Ben-Ephraim, adding that on at least two occasions, detainees had also died of being beaten.

"It's hell there," he said.

High-level support for abuse

Involvement in prisoner abuse goes higher up in Israel. According to Ben-Ephraim, the country’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir had an instrumental role in the treatment of detainees at Sde Teiman.

"He took pride in the fact that the detainees would be treated particularly badly and mentioned it several times in the media," the analyst said.

Authorities were aware of several very extreme cases of abuse that "was facilitated by an atmosphere created by Ben Gvir," he explained, adding that there was no law in the facility.

After the nine soldiers involved in the sexual abuse at Sde Teiman were detained by military police for questioning, far-right mobs stormed the prison, as well as a military court within another base in central Beit Lid.

"The demonstrations show the kind of public pressure that the military and the security services in Israel are under. There's always been a lot of support in Israel for the soldiers. But after Oct. 7, both of those trends have severely strengthened," said Ben-Ephraim.

Even as they lionize the soldiers, many people in Israel treat members of Hamas as subhuman, he added.

"When these soldiers were arrested for doing something that is completely inhumane and immoral, their fellow soldiers posted on social media saying, this is happening, something needs to be done."

According to Ben-Ephraim, the right-wing protesters showed up within an hour at the base with "opportunistic extremist politicians," with the police merely standing by.

"There hasn't been a culture of holding soldiers accountable when they commit crimes because the political pressure would be so extreme. The public doesn't support it. And a lot of the politicians don't support it."

He said a lot of ministers came out against the prosecution, calling it unfair and saying it tarnished the Israeli justice system, a long-time trend in right-wing politics.

"So, there's really no support for prosecuting Israeli soldiers no matter what they do,"

According to Israeli peace activist Maoz Inon, Jewish supremacy is the ultimate goal of Israel’s right-wing government, with the implication being the oppression and occupation of the Palestinians, regardless of whether they are in occupied West Bank or Gaza.

"This is the policy of the government and sometimes the policy is being executed by the IDF … This time, it was that they break into the military base, but it's all under the supervision if it's by order or if it's by permission of the government," he explained.

Calls for international intervention

While Israel faces accusations of war crimes, its extremist government is obstructing any attempts at investigating them.

"I would call the International Court of Justice and the other international institutes to investigate what Israel is doing in Gaza and what Israel is doing to prisoners of war."

Ben-Ephraim believes that soldiers would be found guilty if prosecuted "because there's a lot of evidence from what I'm hearing."

"They'll be punished, maybe not as severely as they should," he said, adding that in such cases, problems often arise in sentencing.

"It's about deterring the military prosecutors from doing their job in the future and there's threats against the prosecutors, there's threats against their families and that will have an effect."