Khaberni - The Israeli army announced today, Thursday, the cancellation of the indictment that had been presented against five Israeli soldiers on the basis of a violent assault on a Palestinian prisoner inside the notorious detention camp "Sdei Teiman", even though the case had previously sparked a wave of widespread condemnations after a video clip showing a brutal torture of the detainee was leaked.
The Israeli army stated in a statement that the military prosecutor had decided to cancel the indictment "in light of significant developments since its submission", pointing out that the decision came after reviewing what he described as "the overall considerations, evidence, and circumstances associated with the case".
According to the military statement, among the reasons that the decision was based on what the army described as "the complexity of the structure that had formed for the evidence", in addition to releasing the Palestinian prisoner and returning him to the Gaza Strip, which, he said, created "additional complications at the evidentiary level".
The army also referred to what it described as "procedural issues" related to the transfer of investigative materials from a parallel case being conducted by the Israeli police, considering that these difficulties could affect what he called "the right of the accused to a fair trial".
The statement also claimed that the case witnessed "extraordinary and unprecedented circumstances", among them what he described as "misconduct by senior officials in the military prosecution and law enforcement agencies", which the military prosecutor considered a justification for canceling the indictment.
The statement added that the Chief of Staff of the army, Eyal Zamir, reviewed the decision and expressed his support for the military prosecutor, emphasizing the "importance of the independence of the military prosecution" within the army, according to the statement.
The army also said that the officers involved in the case had been suspended from service immediately upon its disclosure, and that the completion of related administrative procedures is currently underway.
Background of the case: Brutal torture inside "Sdei Teiman"
The case exploded in August 2024 after a video was leaked from inside the "Sdei Teiman" camp in the Negev which shows Israeli soldiers from "Force 100" surrounding a Palestinian prisoner who was lying on the ground and violently assaulting him using riot shields.
The scenes showed the soldiers dragging the prisoner aside and then surrounding him while assaulting him, at a certain point the soldiers formed a ring around the prisoner to shield him from surveillance camera lenses before he was later transferred to receive treatment for serious injuries.
According to the reports, the soldiers had violently beaten the detainee after bringing him to the facility on 5 July 2024, resulting in serious injuries, including broken ribs and internal tearing in the rectum. The prisoner also suffered humiliating assaults and severe torture, including rape by the insertion of a stick into a sensitive area of his body.
The release of the video at the time stirred angry reactions from international human rights organizations that demanded the closure of the camp, which is used to detain Palestinian prisoners from the Gaza Strip amid repeated reports of widespread violations.
In February of the previous year, the Israeli military prosecution presented an indictment against five soldiers on charges of serious assault on the prisoner inside the camp. Despite the severity of the charges, the accused soldiers were not detained and no restrictions were imposed on them, and the Israeli court banned the publication of their names.
Previous investigation into the video leak
In October 2025, the Israeli army announced the opening of a criminal investigation regarding the video leak that revealed the assault.
The army said at the time that the investigation includes the possibility of involvement of elements from the military prosecution in leaking the clip, while the Israeli government's legal advisor, Gali Baharav Miara, announced that the investigation is being conducted in conjunction with the Israeli police and the Attorney General's office.
Israeli Minister of Security, Yisrael Katz, at the time announced the suspension of the duties of the military general prosecutor, in a step he said came on the background of the investigation into the video leak.
Testimonies about wider violations inside the camp
In May of the previous year, a reserve soldier in the Israeli army revealed what he described as "horrific atrocities" inside the "Sdei Teiman" camp.
The soldier spoke about the martyrdom of civilian detainees from the Gaza Strip inside the camp as a result of "severe torture", while others underwent surgical operations without anesthesia.
