Riots In Israel Underline Its Far-Right Shift

Far-right protesters, soldiers, and MKs rallied for guards suspected of raping a Palestinian detainee. Once fringe, they’re now the public face of the state.

Among the hundreds of right-wing Israeli activists demonstrating outside the Beit Lid army base on the night of July 29, a group of masked soldiers carrying weapons stood out in the crowd. The soldiers were easily identifiable by the illustration on their badges: a snake inside the Star of David, the insignia of Force 100. Established in the wake of the First Intifada, Force 100 is an IDF unit responsible for overseeing Palestinian detainees and repressing uprisings in military prisons. Since October, the unit has also operated the Sde Teiman military base, where Palestinians from the Gaza Strip have been detained, abused, and tortured.

The soldiers came to Beit Lid to support and demand the release of ten of their comrades who had been arrested on suspicion of raping a Palestinian detainee at Sde Teiman. The detainee, according to Physicians for Human Rights – Israel (PHRI), was hospitalized three weeks ago with severe injuries to his rectum. Earlier that Monday, protesters and far-right Knesset members amassed outside of Sde Teiman after Israeli military police entered the base to detain the suspects, which included a commander in Force 100.

“The Military Advocate General [Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi] loves Nukhba,” read one sign outside Beit Lid, referring to the elite military unit of Hamas whose members the protesters believed were detained at Sde Teiman. “The Military Advocate General is a criminal,” read another.