Netanyahu says Sde Teiman torture scandal caused ‘untold damage,’ led to comparisons between Israeli soldiers and Nazis

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that the leaked video showing the torture of a Palestinian prisoner at the Sde Teiman detention camp had inflicted severe damage on Israel’s image and its army, leading to comparisons between Israeli soldiers and the Nazis.

Speaking before the Knesset, Netanyahu addressed lawmakers after 40 members of parliament signed a motion to summon him for discussion on the establishment of an official commission of inquiry into the events of 7 October 2023.

“The Sde Teiman case against Force 100 a year and a half ago caused untold damage to the State of Israel and the IDF,” Netanyahu said, referring to the military unit implicated in the scandal. He claimed that the video, allegedly edited, was leaked to Channel 12 and had been viewed more than 100 million times, triggering widespread international outrage.

The footage, first broadcast in August 2024, showed Israeli soldiers torturing and sexually assaulting a Palestinian detainee at the Sde Teiman facility in southern Israel in July 2024, leaving the man with severe injuries, including a rectal tear.

Netanyahu accused those responsible for investigating the incident — in a veiled reference to former Military Advocate General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi — of “abusing their power to distort the truth” and of providing “propaganda ammunition to Israel’s enemies.”

He concluded by calling for a thorough investigation into the affair, saying, “What happened in the Sde Teiman case must be investigated, the truth revealed, and justice served.”

The Sde Teiman detention facility has faced repeated allegations from human rights groups and former detainees of systematic torture and abuse against Palestinian prisoners.

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