MKs, including Zvi Sukkot and Nissim Vaturi, and rioters broke through the fence Monday afternoon at the Sde Teiman facility near Beersheba amid riots at the detention facility after suspects were detained for sexual abuse of a Nukhba terrorist.
The rioters at the site are chanting: “Death to terrorists” and “Death to the court.”
בפעם הראשונה כנראה בחייו המשתמט צבי סוכות בבסיס צה”ל.הגיע להמריד ולפרק את צבא העם. pic.twitter.com/DE1ta0VNYR
— yayafink (יאיא פינק) (@yayafink) July 29, 2024
MK Zvi Sukkot, who was originally barred from entering, was able to enter through a narrow opening in the fence.
Some of the protesters who crossed the facility’s fence, including MK Nissim Vaturi, are confronting the soldiers and officers who are trying to escort them out of the base, Army Radio military correspondent Doron Kadosh reported on X, formerly Twitter.
Due to this incident, the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee will hold a confidential discussion, to which the Military Police Commander was invited.
Members of the IDF and the police are stopping the breach of the Sde Teiman facility by Israeli civilians, the IDF said in a statement.
“The breach of the Sde Teiman facility is very serious and illegal. The storming of a military base and the disruption of order at the site are severe behaviors that are unacceptable in any way. We are at war, and such actions endanger the security of the state. I strongly condemn the incident, and we are working to restore order at the base,” IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said in a statement.
“I fully support the military prosecution and the military police in their investigation of every incident brought to their attention. This is their duty, regardless of rank or position. It is precisely these investigations that protect our soldiers at home and abroad and uphold IDF values. These investigations are conducted with respect for our soldiers, whom we command,” Halevi concluded.
Politicians respond to the incident
“We condemn the violence against MK Zvi Sukkot and the illegal attempt to prevent an elected official from entering the scene to carry out his parliamentary duties,” Religious Zionism said in a statement in response to the barring of the MK from the prison facility.
The party condemned the IDF Chief Military Prosecutor and the Military Advocate general for “crossing the line.”
“It is time to stop tying the hands of our soldiers and to win!” the statement concluded.
Opposition Leader and Yesh Atid Head Yair Lapid commented on MK Sukkot’s break-in, calling it a “despicable and dangerous crime by MKs who weaken and dismantle the IDF and the state of Israel, and gnaw away the foundations of our power from the inside.”
He added, “The politicians who abandoned the hostages, abandoned security, and destroyed society are now destroying the chain of command and sanctifying lawlessness and crime.”
The Movement for Quality Government (MQG) in Israel condemned politicians bypassing the fence at the detention facility and called their behavior “acts that have no place in a democratic country.”
“The events taking place at the Sde Teiman base are a serious violation of the rule of law and of the most basic principles of democracy. Breaking into a military base and attempting to interfere in proper investigation procedures, especially by elected officials, are acts that have no place in a democratic country,” the statement read.
“We call on the attorney general to immediately start an investigation of all those involved in these events, including the members of the Knesset and the ministers who took part in them,” MQG said.
Officials from the criminal investigation division detained several reserve soldiers for questioning on Monday on suspicion that they abused a terrorist detained at the facility.
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