Israeli army says soldier given 7 months’ jail for abusing Palestinian detainees

Israeli soldiers walk along a road during a military operation in the Jenin camp for Palestinian refugees in the north of the occupied West Bank on Feb 3, 2025.

Israeli soldiers walk along a road during a military operation in the Jenin camp for Palestinian refugees in the north of the occupied West Bank on Feb 3.

JERUSALEM – An Israeli military court sentenced a soldier to seven months in prison after he admitted to “severely abusing” Palestinians at a detention facility near the border with Gaza, the army said on Feb 6 .

“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 which 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 detention centre near the Israeli border with Gaza was constructed early in Israel’s war with Hamas following the militant group’s unprecedented Oct 7, 2023 attack to hold detainees from the Palestinian territory.

“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 statement said.