Israeli military probe of suspected abuse of Palestinian detainee sparks uproar

JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Right-wing Israeli protesters broke into two military compounds on Monday after investigators arrived to question soldiers about suspected abuse at one of them, a detention camp for Palestinians captured during the Gaza war.

Small crowds of protesters forced their way into the compounds in what Israel's military chief described as "unlawful behaviors bordering on anarchy." The protesters later dispersed.

The unrest began when military police showed up at the first site, the Sde Teiman military detention center in southern Israel, as part of their investigation.

Army Radio reported that they came to question about 10 reserve soldiers suspected of abusing a prisoner captured from an elite unit of Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.

As the military police arrived at the camp, a crowd of civilian protesters, including far-right members of parliament, gathered outside, denouncing the investigation of soldiers they said were doing their duty.

Israeli television channels carried footage of some protesters forcing open a gate and pushing their way into the base. A cabinet minister from an ultranationalist party could be seen walking among them.

As night fell, a crowd also gathered at the Beit Lid military compound in northern Israel. A number of people broke into a military court there before police and soldiers pushed them back out, the police said in a statement.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a prominent leader of the nationalist-religious bloc in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and frequent critic of the army command, posted a video on social media platform X saying the soldiers being questioned should be treated like heroes, not criminals.

Netanyahu denounced the break-ins and called for calm. Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said: "Even in difficult times, the law applies to everyone – nobody may trespass into IDF bases," using an acronym for Israel's military.

The investigation was previously announced, and the military said its advocate general ordered the inquiry "following suspected substantial abuse of a detainee". It provided no further details.

Rights groups including the Association for Civil Rights in Israel have alleged serious abuse of detainees at the Sde Teiman camp in the Negev desert, which Israel has announced will be phased out.

Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, the military chief of staff, defended the investigation.

"We are in the midst of a war, and actions of this type endanger the security of the state," Halevi said in a statement regarding the break-in. "It is precisely these investigations that protect our soldiers in Israel and the world and preserve IDF values."

'IN THE ABYSS'

Centrist opposition party Yesh Atid called for the dismissal of the deputy speaker of parliament, who it said took part in the protest and cheered on the demonstrators.

"We are not on the brink of the abyss, we are in the abyss. All the red lines were crossed today," wrote opposition leader and former prime minister Yair Lapid on social media.

Widespread reports of mistreatment of detainees in Israeli prisons have added to international pressure on Israel over its conduct of the Gaza war, now approaching the start of its 11th month. In May, the U.S. State Department said it was looking into allegations of Israeli abuse of Palestinian detainees.

(Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch and James Mackenzie; editing by Mark Heinrich, Gareth Jones and Cynthia Osterman)