Israel must respect its soldiers as Sde Teiman probe continues - opinion

The criminal probe into the behavior of IDF reservists suspected of the sexual abuse of a Nukhba terrorist at the Sde Teiman camp is crucial. Nevertheless, even as we acknowledge this, we must remember that those being investigated are heroic soldiers who continue to sacrifice their lives in defense of our country.

Although examinations carried out on the Nukhba terrorist at the hospital revealed evidence of sexual abuse, we must await the police investigation. If a criminal offense was committed, the guilty parties will be prosecuted.

Decision-makers must explain how masked military police officers arrived in broad daylight at a base where criminals, murderers, and rapists are concentrated, and arrested the reserve soldiers using handcuffs in front of the cameras.

Why hasn’t such an investigation been censored? I assume that whoever made the decision understands today that it is enough to eavesdrop on suspects before arrest to know whether there are interrogation disruptions.

This should have been done without degrading the IDF soldiers. In another case, an IDF soldier indicted by the military prosecution for multiple offenses of abuse and misconduct had his name and picture published, unnecessarily endangering his life. Such sensitive investigations should have been put under a gag order.

In an interview I conducted with former deputy head of the Police Internal Investigations Department MK Moshe Saada, on the Radios 100 FM program “The Chosen Ones,” he explained:

“We never sent masked men; this actually disrupts the investigation.” MK Saada also said that a man in charge of interrogating Nukhba terrorists called him, shocked to discover that IDF soldiers were calling Hamas terrorists released from detention in Israel to ask whether they had been physically abused.

An invitation to falsehood 

Saada goes on to say that this can lead to false complaints: “The State of Israel sends IDF soldiers to terrorists to ask about the investigation, inviting false complaints... The IDF is in the midst of a war, inviting complaints against service members and combatants. This is done with approval and authority. This week, at the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, the chief military prosecutor confirmed this.”

Indeed, the chief prosecutor in the State Attorney’s Office admitted that such conversations had been initiated with terrorists. Could this imply an excess of zeal regarding such a sensitive subject? The accusers are merciless terrorists, and as anyone who has dealt with these types of criminals can tell you, lying is their bread and butter, elevated to an art form.

Against the backdrop of the arrest of IDF fighters in Sde Teiman and the decision of Military Advocate Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi and the military police, the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee convened for a confidential and urgent discussion. The committee was told that “the Head of the Personnel Directorate of the General Staff, Maj.-Gen. Yaniv Asor believes that the arrests of IDF soldiers in Sde Teiman by means of a raid by masked men was an error.”

Attorney Ephraim Dimery, who represents the main suspect in the case, said: “These are the testimonies of murderous terrorists. The complainant is a Hamas company commander in Shejaiya who accuses our fighters of abuse. He gave terrorists instructions on how to rape and burn babies, and for those who didn’t know, he taught them! This man is a murderer, one of the terrorists with the most blood on his hands.”

The soldiers are accused of committing group sodomy. And yet, it is impossible to commit illegal acts without being seen, as Sde Teiman has 24/7 surveillance cameras.

The complaints are blood libels.

Attorney Adi Kedar, who, as legal advisor to Honenu represents some of the detainees on behalf of the non-profit, noted in an interview with Makor Rishon that the accused denied claims of intentional harm.

“Obviously, this is an attempt to prove to the court in The Hague how righteous we are,” said Kedar, regarding the establishment of the National Unit for Operational Affairs, tasked with investigating alleged misconduct by members of the IDF and providing the information to the military advocate-general (MAG).

He said that while the unit had ostensibly been established to investigate criminal events, its entire purpose was “external, towards The Hague.” He said that everything was geared toward showing the world that in the midst of this war, we are investigating ourselves.”

The author is the CEO of Radios 100FM, honorary consul-general of Nauru, deputy dean of the Consular Diplomatic Corps of Israel, president of the Israeli Radio and Communication Association, and vice president of the Ambassadors’ Club.