5 soldiers suspected of abusing Palestinian detainee expected to be sent to house arrest

Five reserve soldiers suspected of the sexual abuse of a Palestinian terror detainee at the Sde Teiman base in southern Israel are expected to be released to house arrest.

Military prosecutors are seeking to extend their detention until August 22, for the investigation into the high-profile abuse case to continue.

The defense says that it has come to an agreement with the prosecution to extend the suspects’ remands, while releasing them to full house arrest.

The agreement between the prosecution and defense will be presented to judges at a military court during a remand hearing later today.

In all, 10 soldiers at the Sde Teiman detention facility were detained over the suspected sexual abuse of a Hamas police officer who had been arrested in the Gaza Strip. Prosecutors did not seek to hold five of them in custody, following new evidence in the case.

According to the IDF, the soldiers are suspected of aggravated sodomy (a charge equivalent to rape), causing bodily harm under aggravated circumstances, abuse under aggravated circumstances and conduct unbecoming of a soldier.