The IDF servicemen suspected of abusing a Palestinian detainee have demanded "support and gratitude"

Israeli soldiers accused of torturing and sexually assaulting a Palestinian prisoner at the Sde Teiman detention facility have publicly defended their actions, claiming they are being unfairly prosecuted and vowing to "fight for justice."

The case relates to a July 2024 incident at the Sde Teiman military base in southern Israel, where five reservists were initially charged with rape and later indicted for "aggravated abuse" after video footage appeared to show soldiers assaulting a blindfolded Palestinian detainee. The man allegedly sustained multiple injuries, including a ruptured bowel and severe rectal trauma.

Wearing black masks to conceal their identities, the accused servicemen appeared outside Israel's Supreme Court in West Jerusalem on Monday, delivering a defiant statement to the press.

"Instead of appreciation, we received accusations - instead of thanks, there was silence," one of the masked soldiers said. "You didn't let us respond, you didn't let us explain. You put us on trial in front of the cameras as if you had already decided who the culprit is."

"We will not be silent. We will continue to fight for justice," he added. "We will win, because there is only one truth."

The controversy reignited last week after the IDF's former top military prosecutor, Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, resigned following her admission that she had authorized the release of the footage. In her resignation letter, Tomer-Yerushalmi said she leaked the video to counter "false propaganda" and emphasized that, despite the detainees being "terror operatives," there was a duty to investigate any reasonable suspicion of violence by IDF personnel.

The scandal escalated further on Monday when a Tel Aviv court ordered the arrest and three-day detention of Tomer-Yerushalmi. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the leak "perhaps the most serious public relations attack Israel has experienced since its founding." Defense Minister Israel Katz accused critics of the accused soldiers of spreading "blood libels."

The incident has drawn international criticism, including from a United Nations commission, which said last year it exposed only the "tip of the iceberg" regarding detainee abuse in Israeli military facilities.