From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, July 30, 2024
IDF: Right-wing riots at army bases delay discussions of reprisal against Hezbollah
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
The IDF says the rioting by right-wing mobs at the Sde Teiman base in southern Israel earlier today and the Beit Lid base in central Israel this evening are directly harming Israel’s security.
Over the past day, the IDF says it has been preparing for its retaliation against Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the rioting has been a major distraction.
Top IDF officers, including Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, stopped critical discussions on the north to deal with the infiltration into the bases.
Halevi visited the Beit Lid base this evening following the rioting.
Meanwhile, several IDF companies from the West Bank and others on vacation are being dispatched to the Beit Lid base this evening, and several battalions will be there by tomorrow.
The incidents began after Military Police officers detained nine reservist soldiers at Sde Teiman this morning on suspicion of seriously abusing a Palestinian detainee several weeks ago at a detention facility at the base.
הלם בצה"ל מהתנהלות המשטרה (נטולת המפכ"ל).
גורמים צבאיים אומרים שבמצ"ח התחננו למשטרה שישלחו כוחות פינוי לבסיס בית ליד כדי למנוע את מראות שדה תימן אך המשטרה סירבה במכוון: "במשטרה אמרו לנו שחיילים יפתרו את זה. גם עכשיו בכירים במשטרה עושים הכל כדי להקטין את חומרת האירוע כמעודדים את… pic.twitter.com/GQEyQSVLyt— יואב זיתון (@yoavzitun) July 29, 2024
Not long after, some 1,200 right-wing activists, along with several ultranationalist lawmakers, gathered outside Sde Teiman in protest of the investigation of the reservists, with many of them breaching into the base. It was unclear how many exactly entered the facility.
There have been no reports of arrests by police.
