Netanyahu, others hail dropping of ‘blood libel’ charges in Sde Teiman abuse case; rights group accuses IDF of whitewashing

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office and others in his government welcome the cancellation of a 2024 indictment against IDF reserve soldiers accused of abusing a Palestinian detainee at the Sde Teiman detention facility.

“The blood libel known as the ‘Sde Teiman affair’ against the fighters of Force 100, which smeared Israel’s reputation around the world in an unprecedented way, has come to an end,” the Prime Minister’s Office says in a statement, shortly after Military Advocate General Maj. Gen. Itai Ofir ordered the cancellation.

“It is unacceptable that it took so long to close the case, which was conducted in a criminal manner against IDF soldiers who are confronting the worst of our enemies. Israel must pursue its enemies, not its heroic fighters,” the statement concludes.

Defense Minister Israel Katz, who selected Ofir for the role, also hails the decision, saying that “justice has been done.”

“This trial was born in sin by the previous military advocate general, using a blood libel against IDF soldiers and criminal investigative methods, and I am glad that justice has been done and the trial has been canceled,” he says.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir similarly lauds the move, saying it constitutes “an indictment of the justice system, the previous military advocate general, and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara” — accusing them of falsifying a case against the indicted soldiers.

“Those who need to be held accountable for this grave affair are those officials in the legal system who took part in this criminal conduct and damaged the good name of IDF soldiers,” adds the far-right minister, who has implemented harsh conditions for Palestinian security prisoners.

Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli likewise calls the indictments “a blood libel” and says they did “unprecedented damage” to Israel’s image abroad.

In contrast, the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel accuses Ofir of whitewashing the Sde Teiman abuse scandal.

“The condition in which the detainee arrived at the hospital after being attacked in the detention facility leaves no room for doubt as to the acts committed against him and their severity, and the footage released from the security cameras at the scene clearly indicates that these [acts] were inflicted on him by the guards, who abused him with blood-curdling cruelty for a long time,” the organization says.

The original indictment against the five defendants cited medical records from the hospitalization of the detainee that testified to the severe wounds he had sustained in Sde Teiman, including broken ribs and a tear to his rectum. Numerous reports have found evidence of severe abuse at Sde Teiman by IDF soldiers and other security services personnel.