Israel has detained nine soldiers for questioning following allegations of abuse of a detainee at a facility where Israel holds Palestinian prisoners, the military said.
The military did not release further details surrounding the alleged abuse, saying only that an investigation had been opened into the matter.
An investigation by the Associated Press (AP) news agency and reports by human rights groups exposed the inhumane conditions at the Sde Teiman facility, the country's largest detention center.
A report by the United Nations agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) released earlier this year said detainees alleged they had been subjected to ill-treatment and abuse while in Israeli custody, without specifying the facilities. The military has generally denied ill-treatment of detainees.
Following allegations of harsh treatment, Israel said it was transferring most of the Palestinian detainees out of Sde Teiman and modernizing it.
Israeli media reported that military police who arrived at Sde Teiman in southern Israel to detain the soldiers were met with protests and clashes.
The soldiers’ arrests sparked an outcry among far-right members of the Israeli government, who condemned the investigation into their conduct as an affront to their service.
Israel has detained thousands of Palestinians since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that triggered the Gaza war, according to official figures, although hundreds have been released after the military determined they were not involved in Hamas.
Israeli human rights groups say most of the detainees have been to Sde Teiman at some point.
International mediators are trying to get Hamas and Israel to agree on a ceasefire deal that would end the war in Gaza and free the remaining 110 hostages still held in the Palestinian enclave.
