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Did guards commit sodomy against detainee at Sdei Teiman? – analysis
There are all kinds of side political and operational issues surrounding the arrest of 10 soldiers who were prison guards at the IDF’s makeshift Sdei Teiman detention facility for allegedly sodomizing a Palestinian detainee there.
But the central question is: did the guards sodomize the detainee or not? If they did, putting aside how much Israelis of all political affiliations despise any Palestinians involved in violence or terror against Israel, both Israeli and international law are very clear that the guards will need to be punished.
What the punishment would be depends on what they are convicted of, and there are all kinds of extenuating circumstances that can be explored in a trial that can lessen the severity of a crime or a sentence.
Hebron shooter Elor Azaria was convicted of a reduced manslaughter charge and ended up serving less than a year in prison for killing a neutralized Palestinian terrorist.The second most important question is whether the High Court of Justice will soon force a complete closure of the Sdei Teiman facility, or whether they will allow it to remain open in a reduced capacity, given that the vast majority of detainees have already been transferred to more standard prison facilities.
Back to the first main issue: there have been contrary reports about what the medical reports say regarding the detainee. Some reports have said that the medical reports unequivocally support the allegations that he was sodomized via his rectum. Other reports have said that the medical reports on that specific allegation leave open the possibility of him having been sodomized, but also leave open other possibilities that could be used by the suspects to argue the evidence cannot support a beyond a reasonable doubt conviction.
Prosecution confident of winning
The Jerusalem Post understands that the prosecution is very confident of winning on this point and, to date, the IDF pretrial court has consistently ruled in their favor to repeatedly extend the detention of the key suspects.
Another area of ambiguity is who is responsible for what. Ten guards were originally arrested. Two were quickly released, and three more were released some days later after their detention was initially extended by an IDF pretrial court.
It seems that those three may still face some lesser charges. Regarding the five still in detention, it seems that two may have central culpability for the alleged offenses, while the others may have some additional culpability beyond the earlier released arrested guards, but still less than the top two. The Post has learned, however, that all five are likely to be accused of being involved in some way with the sodomy attack.
Also, there have been leaks that the two central suspects failed polygraph questions about whether they had perpetrated sodomy. This is not a good sign for them, but polygraphs are also not considered strong evidence in criminal trials. The Post understands that this is more being used by prosecutors as a helpful guide point for how to conduct the pre-indictment investigation than any expectation of using the polygraph to win at trial.
Self-defense incidents don’t usually last 10 minutes
Possibly the largest problem for the two most central suspects and the three other suspects still under arrest are leaks that the central incident lasted for around 10 minutes.
If this is true, it will be very difficult for them to argue that they were acting in self-defense or that they were temporarily confused or provoked and did not have criminal intent.
A short 45-second video leaked to Channel 12 seemed to present the actions against the detainee as carefully planned, including concealing the worst actions from video cameras in the area, though because the actions were concealed, they do not necessarily prove the sodomy charge on their own.
But by putting together the video evidence with medical report evidence and possibly with some incriminating evidence from the prison guards themselves or their commanders, the case so far looks strong.
Certainly, the IDF pretrial court has made increasingly definitive statements about the evidence against the main suspects in the case.
The sodomy case is far from the only case relating to Sdei Teiman.
Already weeks ago, a separate indictment was filed against a single prison guard for beating a different detainee while transferring the detainee to and from the interrogation rooms.
In that case, there is video evidence of the beatings, and the soldier’s commanders turned him in.
Further, there are expected to be much later cases against prison guards relating to the deaths of around 27 detainees while in custody.
On July 19, the Post exclusively reported that IDF Military Advocate General Yifat Tomer Yerushalmi would point out that two complications with trying to speed up the Sdei Teiman cases are that some detainees were badly wounded on the battlefield and died in Sdei Teiman, but likely of their wounds.
She hopes she can move forward faster in cases of detainees who came to Sdei Teiman fully healthy and only later were wounded or died.
Delays in medical evaluations
However, even with those cases, the Post reported that the IDF legal division is facing a massive delay in receiving professional medical opinions regarding injuries or the cause of death.
For example, was death caused for a specific detainee by strangulation, a series of blows to the body, or a heart attack?
The Post reported that the state medical forensics institute has been overwhelmed in trying to advance all of these questions since October 7 and the depressing and unprecedented volume of work has decimated the staff size just as the IDF legal division is growing to try to keep up with the war.
As an example of delay, regarding one soldier who committed suicide, it took around seven to eight months to get a medical opinion.
The Post clarified on Thursday that despite the additional public attention now focused on the Sdei Teiman cases, there has been no breakthrough to move the forensics institute process faster as compared to where things stood at the time of the Post’s July 19 report.
Returning to the broader issue of how long Sdei Teiman will remain open, the state reported to the High Coirt of Justice on Wednesday that only around 30 detainees remain at the facility out of around 1,400 which were being held there prior to June 5.
Already on June 5, the state had told the court that 700 detainees had been transferred and that another 500 would be transferred within a few weeks.
Despite the progress, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel continued to push the court to order an immediate shut down of the facility.
ACRI contended that the state’s own comments on Wednesday made it clear that new detainees could still be brought to Sdei Teiman.
Further, ACRI said that the allegations of detainees being held there on their knees in crowded cages, handcuffed and blindfolded all day, and subject to humiliating treatment, along with the many cases turning into criminal probes, meant that the state should no longer be given the benefit of the doubt.
In contrast, the justices seemed to want to give the state credit for transferring the vast majority of detainees and wanted to give the state until early September, when the state said more remaining detainees would be transferred and the facility might be able to be closed.
The High Court did not clarify whether it would issue an order before early September.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s briefing to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Monday put him at odds with the IDF regarding how many haredi the military can absorb in a short amount of time.
Netanyahu said that while he was in favor of increasing haredi integration into the IDF, in practicality, the military needed more time to establish haredi-tailored programs and environments for this to be successful.
The prime minister’s remark comes days after top IDF officials presented a series of highly specific, customized programs for the ultra-Orthodox that are either already open or are “ready to go” as soon as the haredi respond to their military summons. This directly contradicts the prime minister’s words during the briefing.
Netanyahu spoke to the committee in a closed and classified hearing, but portions of what he said were, nevertheless, publicized, including his comments regarding haredi integration into the IDF.
When asked about the issue, Netanyahu said, “We would prefer that anyone who is not studying [in a yeshiva] share the burden [of military service.] But right now, there is a gap between what the army says it can absorb and what it can absorb, so the absorption capacity of the IDF needs to be increased.”
He added that there were intentions to create new frameworks that would allow the haredi to maintain their way of life as well as to respond to operational needs, such as establishing an ultra-Orthodox base along the border with Jordan that would be responsible for defense there.
How to fulfill the IDF’s need for more soldiers
Besides that example, Netanyahu said that the army’s need for more soldiers could be filled by extending the service of mandatory service soldiers as well as calling up a variety of reservists from among the population living in border communities who never responded to their call-ups or were given exemptions.
In contrast to Netanyahu’s statements, seeming to indicate that the IDF cannot absorb a significant increase of haredi men, the military has said repeatedly, dating back to August, that it has been ready to receive an additional 3,000 haredi per year, on top of the approximately 1,800 per year it has already been absorbing.
The announcement in August and the sending of summons to 3,000 members of the ultra-Orthodox community came after months of extensive work and the investment of significant resources to prepare both personnel and bases for a new, major influx.
One new option for service that the IDF has already added for the haredi to make their service more attractive is serving in technical and logistical capacities at hardened aircraft shelters at an air force base section where only men will serve.
Another new option is called the Yoav Track in logistics command centers, which includes fulfilling a wide variety of technical and logistic roles throughout the military, and not just in the Israel Air Force.
Also, though Netanyahu said that the IDF should look into forming a new haredi brigade, the military had already announced last week that on December 26, it would open one, distinct from Netzach Yehuda.
Netzach Yehuda had been the brigade that most of the haredi wanted to join to date. However, it has turned off many of the ultra-orthodox because it has a reputation for being more religious Zionist in nature than haredi.
Additionally, there is a recently established unit of haredi serving at the Ofer detention center, and that program is expected to grow.
Further, a Lt.-Col. with a hassidic Chabad background, who has joined the army. He will be focused on haredi affairs and making sure new inductees are comfortable and are having their needs addressed.
Despite a detailed presentation last week about all of these new service mediums as being already established for haredim, a spokesperson for Netanyahu doubled down on the claim that the IDF was still lacking in its capacity to absorb a major influx of haredi soldiers.
Tovah Lazaroff contributed to this report.
British rocker Paul Weller, Scottish band Primal Scream, and Irish rappers Kneecap will headline a ‘Gig For Gaza’ charity show at London’s O2 Academy Brixton on Dec. 13.
Weller, the former frontman for 1970s punk pioneers The Jam, is curating the show, with all proceeds going to organizations Medical Aid For Palestinians and Gaza Forever, which purportedly provide essential aid – including food, medical supplies, and emergency shelter – for Gazans who have been forced to flee their homes due to the Israel-Hamas War.
“This is an opportunity to enjoy a night of powerful music and make a tangible difference in the lives of people facing unimaginable hardship,” a press release for the show said. The concert will also feature guest speakers and short films.
Weller of Primal Scream performed with Palestinian flag
During a recent tour of the US, Weller, a longtime advocate for leftwing causes, performed with a Palestinian flag draped over his guitar amplifier. Speaking onstage from Glasgow, Scotland, last month, Weller said, “I would like to dedicate that last song to all the tens of thousands of women, children, babies, men, civilians in Palestine and Gaza. I would ask you one question. It’s really simple. There is no grey area. Are you for genocide, or are you against it? It’s a f–-king yes or no question…”
Over the summer, Primal Scream, which formed in the 1980s, gave their support for a jersey design for a Palestinian refugee football team based on their classic record ‘Screamadelica.’
In March, Kneecap withdrew from performing at the SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas, after it was revealed that the US Army was a “super sponsor” of the event as well as defense contractor RTX Corporation.
“It is done in solidarity with the people of Palestine and to highlight the unacceptable deep links the festival has to weapons companies,” the group explained of their decision via Instagram. “This will have a significant financial impact on Kneecap… but it isn’t an iota of hardship when compared with the suffering being inflicted on the people of Gaza.
None of the artists appearing nor promo material for the concert mentioned the 101 Israeli hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza, nor the October 7 massacre that killed over 1,200 Israelis and sparked the current war aimed at toppling Hamas.
David Brinn contributed to this report.
Support for a two-state solution in the Middle East among Arab Americans and Palestinians residing in the West Bank and Gaza is on the rise, according to two recent surveys.
The more recent survey from YouGov and Arab News was published on Tuesday. The Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR) published the other in September.
A survey of Arab Americans leading up to the US presidential elections found that half of those polled (50%) believed in seeking a two-state solution.
The poll touched upon the future of the conflict and possible resolutions to see its conclusion. Half of Arab-Americans polled believed in seeking a two-state solution with shared governance over Jerusalem. 34% believe that there should be one state where Israelis and Palestinians have equal rights, and 9% stated that they were unsure.A separate poll conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR) in September found that support for the concept of the two-state solution among Palestinians continues to rise and has the support of 39% of those polled.
According to PSR, three months prior, support for two states stood at around 32%. Figures were taken from Gaza and the West Bank, at 39% and 38%, respectively.
However, when asked about a separate Palestinian state not linked to the “two-state solution” and when state borders are identified as those of 1967, support rises to 59%, PSR found.
Half of the respondents prefer the two-state solution based on the 1967 borders, while 19% prefer a confederation between the two states of Palestine and Israel. Only 10% prefer establishing a single state with equality between Israelis and Palestinians.
When asked about solving the conflict and reaching statehood, nearly half of Palestinian respondents (48%) said they would choose “armed struggle” as a way to achieve it (50% in the West Bank, 36% in Gaza).
However, a third said they preferred negotiations to end the conflict, and 15% said they would like to see popular peaceful resistance.
International calls for two-states
Recent US administrations and other global actors have called for the end to the ongoing war and to reach a two-state solution between Israelis and Palestinians.
The Biden administration has attempted to broker a hostage and ceasefire deal as a first step. In remarks made ahead of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly in September, US President Joe Biden reiterated his support for a two-state solution.
“As we look ahead, we must also address the rise of violence against innocent Palestinians on the West Bank and set the conditions for a better future, including a two-state solution, where the world — where Israel enjoys security and peace and full recognition and normalized relations with all its neighbors, where Palestinians live in security, dignity, and self-determination in a state of their own,” Biden said.
The survey conducted by Arab News and YouGov was conducted using a sample of 500 Arab Americans across the United States from September 26 to October 1, 2024. The survey data have a margin of error of +/- 5.93%.
The poll conducted by PSR comprised a sample size of 1,200 people, of whom 790 were interviewed face-to-face in the West Bank and 410 in Gaza. The margin of error stood at +/-3.5%.
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