The Israeli military has announced that charges against five soldiers accused of abusing a Palestinian prisoner at the Sde Teiman military base in southern Israel have been dropped. In July 2024, ten soldiers were arrested for suspected abuse at the notorious prison at the base, which reportedly sparked anger and protests in Israeli settler and right-wing circles. Five of the soldiers had been charged with subjecting a Palestinian prisoner to assault and sexual abuse, with the indictment stating the prisoner suffered severe injuries including broken ribs and a rectal tear.
According to reports, the decision to drop the charges was made due to "the complexity regarding the existing evidence," with the military citing factors such as the former prisoner now being in Gaza and higher officials' "exceptional actions" in the case. In August 2024, Israeli media published a leaked surveillance video reportedly showing the abuse, after which a chief prosecutor for the Israeli army left his post and was arrested for leaking the footage. UN bodies and Israeli legal organizations have repeatedly raised alarms about abuse and torture-like treatment of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody, which Israel has consistently denied.