Probe of soldiers over alleged sexual abuse fuels tension between Israeli military and hard-liners

JERUSALEM -- Nine Israeli soldiers were due to appear before a military court for an initial hearing Tuesday over what a defense lawyer said were allegations of sexual abuse of a Palestinian at a shadowy facility where Israel has held prisoners from Gaza during the war.

The investigation has stoked tensions between the military command and hard-line nationalists in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government who advocate an even harsher hand in Israel’s conduct of the 10-month-old war in Gaza.

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In a report issued in April, the main U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said Palestinians released from detention and sent back to Gaza reported instances of prisoners being forced to strip naked, of photos taken of them naked and of beatings on the genitals. The report did not specify the facility where the detainees were held.

One detainee said he was forced to sit on an electrical probe that burned his anus. They also reported beatings with iron bars, gun butts and boots, UNRWA said, adding that many of the returned prisoners had to be hospitalized due to injuries or illness.

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https://abcnews.go.com/amp/International/wireStory/probe-soldiers-alleged-sexual-abuse-fuels-tension-israeli-112394863