Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared a leaked video of Israeli soldiers sodomizing Palestinian detainees the worst PR blow in the nation's history— surpassing even accusations of war crimes and genocide since October 7th.
Ten IDF reservists were arrested after the footage aired on Channel 12 in August 2024, showing mass anal rape at Sde Teiman detention center.
Netanyahu minced no words.
"[The anal rape video] caused enormous reputational damage to Israel, to the IDF, and to our soldiers," he said, adding, "It is perhaps the most serious public relations attack Israel has experienced since its founding — I cannot recall one so concentrated and intense. This requires an independent and impartial inquiry, and I expect that such an investigation will indeed take place."
The victim, a Palestinian prisoner transferred in July 2024, suffered broken ribs and a torn rectum.
Five soldiers face indictment.
The leak sparked riots by right-wing activists, including coalition ministers and Knesset members, at the base and military court.
Military advocate general Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi admitted authorizing the video's release and resigned Friday.
But some Israeli voices defend the indefensible.
Pundit Yehuda Schlesinger said on air, "I don’t give a rat’s ass about the IDF raping Palestinian hostages. The only problem for me here is that it’s not a regulated policy of the state to abuse the detainees… They deserve it, and it’s great revenge that we need to give them."
🇮🇱🇵🇸 After getting caught r*ping a Palestinian detainee, Israeli television is making the case that nothing is off the table and that the IDF should act with impunity
— HOT SPOT (@HotSpotHotSpot) August 7, 2024
“I don’t give a rat’s ass what they do to Hamas man” https://t.co/LNZUr70BBi pic.twitter.com/a8VcEzJeIT
He claimed it could "serve us a little more as a deterrent," citing unproven Hamas rapes on October 7th, then lamented: "It’s just a shame we don’t do it in an institutionalized way, as part of regulations for torture of prisoners."
This isn't deterrence—it's depravity dressed as defense.
Netanyahu calls for probes while media cheerleaders demand state-sanctioned sodomy.
If Israel won't police its own monsters, the world will remember Sde Teiman as the stain that exposed the rot.
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