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Fellow soldiers turned him in: IDF moves to charge paratrooper over abuse of a cuffed Palestinian detainee

The soldier admits a blow but denies burns and smearing feces, reports say. Yesh Din data show under 1% of Palestinian complaints against soldiers led to charges from 2016 to 2024.

By 567 Politics staffPublished 9 min read

An Israeli military court in session in 1961. Archive photo from the IDF Spokesperson's Unit, not from the current case.
An Israeli military court in session in 1961. Archive photo from the IDF Spokesperson's Unit, not from the current case. · Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/) ↗

Israeli military prosecutors are preparing to charge a paratrooper over the severe abuse of a handcuffed, blindfolded Palestinian detainee at an army post near Jenin, the Israeli army said on Wednesday, November 11. According to Israeli media accounts of the Military Police file, the soldier kicked the man, struck him with his rifle butt, burned him with cigarettes and smeared feces on his body and face. Fellow soldiers reported him. The soldier admits striking the detainee but denies the other allegations, according to the Times of Israel. His lawyer says there is no evidence against him.

An Israeli military court in session in 1961. Archive photo from the IDF Spokesperson's Unit, not from the current case.

The case is rare because it is moving toward an indictment at all. Israeli rights group Yesh Din found that fewer than 1% of Palestinian complaints against soldiers in the West Bank from 2016 to 2024 ended in charges. Palestinian prisoner groups describe abuse in Israeli custody as a "systematic policy." The army says it opened this case on its own commanders' report and that soldiers who abuse detainees face the law.

What the army and investigators say happened#

An IDF spokesperson gave a statement to the Spanish news agency EFE. Translated from EFE's Spanish, it said an investigation was opened "following a report submitted by commanders about the severe abuse of a Palestinian detainee, who was handcuffed and blindfolded," and that a soldier was arrested. The statement said the detainee was released "shortly" afterward. It said the soldier would stay in custody until Thursday, November 12, "to allow a pre-indictment hearing to be held," Infobae reported, carrying the EFE dispatch.

The fuller account comes from the Military Police investigation, as reported by the Times of Israel, Channel 12 and others. On October 22, soldiers from the Paratroopers Brigade were checking vehicles at the Gilboa crossing, north of Jenin. They found a knife in a Palestinian man's car and detained him.

The man was taken, handcuffed and blindfolded, to the nearby Jalamah army post to wait for questioning by the Shin Bet security service. There, investigators allege, a soldier kicked him and hit him with the butt of his rifle. He is also accused of putting out lit cigarettes on the man's body, urinating on him, and smearing feces on his body and face while urging him to eat it.

Other soldiers who arrived noticed a strong smell and saw what had been done to the man, according to the report quoted by the Times of Israel and summarized by EFE. Shocked, they told their commanders, who passed the case to the Military Police.

WireIsrael reported that three soldiers were questioned at first. Two were released and enough evidence was gathered against the third. It said investigators found his testimony inconsistent. It also reported that the detainee was released after it was found that he had no ties to terrorism, and that he later gave testimony to the Military Police.

The detainee has not been named in any report reviewed for this article. His account in his own words has not been published.

The soldier's denial#

Accounts differ on how much the soldier admits. The Times of Israel and WireIsrael reported that he admits striking the detainee but denies the other allegations.

Ynet reported that he denies the allegations and says the Palestinian was already injured when he arrived at the guard post. People close to him told Ynet that the Military Police should look at other possibilities, including questioning other soldiers who were nearby. Ynet also reported that one soldier who guarded the post was arrested first and released days later, after investigators found he was not connected.

His lawyer, Yossi Boker, told Ynet: "The soldier is a highly motivated combat fighter and a quality young man. He denies what is being alleged against him. There is no evidence in the case. We trust the court, and ultimately the truth will come out."

No indictment had been filed as of Wednesday. A pre-indictment hearing lets a suspect try to persuade prosecutors not to charge. The allegations have not been tested in court.

How rare charges are#

The numbers help explain why the case has drawn attention. Yesh Din, an Israeli rights group, tracks complaints that Palestinians file about soldiers in the West Bank. In a data sheet on 2016 to 2025, it reported that 2,427 complaints reached the military from 2016 to 2024. Of those, 552 led to a criminal investigation, or 22.7%. Just 23 led to an indictment, or 0.9%.

Palestinian complaints against Israeli soldiers in the West Bank, 2016-2024Complaints about offenses by soldiers against Palestinians and their property in the West Bank that reached the military law enforcement system. Covers cases Yesh Din tracked; it is not a count of all incidents.

Source: Yesh Din data sheet, 2026

Show the numbers
StageCases
Complaints received2,427
Criminal investigations opened552
Indictments filed23

The group also found long delays. On average, it took the military 213 days, about seven months, to decide whether to open a criminal investigation. The official limit, set after two state commissions, is 14 weeks. In cases involving deaths where no investigation was opened at once, the average wait for that decision was 304 days. About 45% of complaints took two to five years to process. Yesh Din said the bottleneck lies mainly with the Military Advocate General's Corps, before it decides whether to investigate.

Yesh Din argues that the delays send soldiers "a clear message" that the army condones violence against Palestinians. The army has not answered that charge in any source reviewed here. Its legal chief has instead pointed to recent cases.

What the military's top lawyer says#

The IDF's Military Advocate General, Maj. Gen. Itay Offir, said on November 3 that the army had won convictions against 12 soldiers for crimes in the West Bank, the Jerusalem Post reported. The paper said most of those cases involved violence against detainees during arrest or while taking them to cells.

Offir also said, for the first time, that prosecutors had filed "a fair number" of indictments over soldiers' conduct in Gaza. IDF sources told the Post that meant about five: two for theft and three for beating Palestinians. The army's Fact-Finding Assessment Mechanism has sent 150 war-related incidents, including the treatment of detainees, to prosecutors for closer review. The Post has reported more than 3,000 disciplinary probes.

Offir said the army "does not disavow errors and mistakes." He added that "tragic consequences and legality are two different issues."

Offir also said several more likely indictments of soldiers were at the pre-indictment hearing stage, the Post reported. The army's own statement on the Jalamah case stresses how it began: with a report from commanders after soldiers spoke up. By the accounts reviewed, Military Police questioned three soldiers, released two and kept the third in custody while prosecutors prepared charges.

The Palestinian view of detention#

Palestinian prisoner groups say the Jalamah case is part of a wider pattern. On November 8, the Palestinian Prisoners' Society said testimonies its lawyers gathered from dozens of detainees in October and early November show "a systematic policy rather than isolated violations," WAFA reported.

The society said detainees described raids by special prison units with weapons and dogs, beatings that broke teeth and ribs, and a scabies outbreak. It said about 80% of male and female detainees, including children, are infected, based on its visits and on released prisoners' accounts. The Israel Prison Service's response to those claims was not included in the report, and none was found.

The number of Palestinian women held by Israel has risen to 88, according to the PA's Detainees Commission, as 567 Politics reported last week.

Israeli courts this month also rejected two petitions to free 14 Gaza doctors held without trial, some for more than two years, the Israeli group Physicians for Human Rights-Israel said, according to WAFA. Naji Abbas of the group said the rulings showed "the Israeli judiciary's failure to protect their rights." No court reasoning for the latest rulings and no Israeli government comment on them were published in the reports reviewed.

Where this fits#

The case comes during a tense week in the West Bank. Israeli forces left Hebron after a 10-day operation, as 567 Politics reported. Settlers are suspected in a large arson in al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya, covered in a separate report. The PA's monitoring body counted more than 3,000 incidents involving Israeli forces and settlers in October, as 567 Politics reported.

Those settler cases are handled mainly by the Israel Police. Abuse by soldiers goes through the military justice system, which is the subject of Yesh Din's data.

Timeline of the case#

The Jalamah detainee case so far
  1. October 22, 2026Soldiers find a knife in a car at the Gilboa crossing and detain the driver; the alleged abuse follows at the Jalamah post
  2. Days laterMilitary Police arrest a soldier who guarded the post, then release him after finding he was not involved
  3. Late OctoberA second soldier, a paratrooper, is arrested; his custody is extended several times
  4. November 10, 2026A military court extends his custody to November 12 ahead of a likely indictment
  5. November 11, 2026The IDF confirms the case and says a pre-indictment hearing will be held
  6. November 12, 2026The soldier's current custody order runs out

Source: Times of Israel, Ynet, WireIsrael, EFE via Infobae

The pre-indictment hearing and open questions#

The soldier's custody runs until November 12. Prosecutors must decide after the pre-indictment hearing whether to file charges, and on which counts. If an indictment is filed, it will be heard in a military court. The soldier is presumed innocent until a court rules.

Key questions remain open. It is not yet known what charges prosecutors will seek, whether other soldiers will face questions, and whether the detainee will testify at a trial. Yesh Din's data suggest that cases often take years to resolve. The speed of this one, from the October 22 incident to a pre-indictment hearing in three weeks, is unusual by that measure. Palestinian factions and parties are mapped on the Palestine political spectrum.

Sources#

Differing perspectives

Does Israel's military justice system hold soldiers accountable for abuse of Palestinian detainees?

Each position is summarized as its supporters make it, with equal weight and in alphabetical order. A summary is not an endorsement; the evidence for each is weighed in the story above.

  • Abuse in custody is a systematic policy

    Who holds it: The Palestinian Prisoners' Society and Palestinian detainee advocates

    The society says testimonies gathered by its lawyers from dozens of detainees in October and early November show a systematic policy, not isolated violations. It points to repeated raids by armed prison units with dogs, beatings that broke teeth and ribs, and a scabies outbreak it says affects about 80% of detainees, including children, with no meaningful treatment.

    In their words: WAFA, carrying the Palestinian Prisoners' Society statement ↗

  • Let the court decide; the soldier denies the charges

    Who holds it: The accused soldier, his lawyer Yossi Boker and people close to him

    The defense says the soldier is a highly motivated combat fighter who denies the allegations and that there is no evidence in the case. He says the detainee was already injured when he reached the guard post. People close to him argue that military police should examine other possibilities, including other soldiers nearby. His lawyer says they trust the court and that the truth will come out.

    In their words: Ynet, quoting the soldier's lawyer ↗

  • Military justice is too slow and rarely charges soldiers

    Who holds it: Yesh Din, an Israeli human rights group

    Yesh Din argues that the military fails to meet its own time limits: it took an average of 213 days to decide whether to investigate, against a 14-week limit, and nearly half of complaints took two to five years. From 2016 to 2024, it says, only 23 of 2,427 complaints led to an indictment. It says these delays signal to soldiers that violence against Palestinians is condoned.

    In their words: Yesh Din data sheet ↗

  • The military system is investigating and acting

    Who holds it: The Israel Defense Forces and its spokesperson's office

    The army says this investigation began because commanders reported the severe abuse of a handcuffed, blindfolded detainee, and that a soldier was arrested soon after. It says the detainee was released shortly afterward and that the soldier is being held so a pre-indictment hearing can take place. The army presents the case as its own law enforcement system responding to a report from within its ranks.

    In their words: Infobae, carrying EFE's report of the IDF statement ↗

Cite this article

567 Politics staff. “Fellow soldiers turned him in: IDF moves to charge paratrooper over abuse of a cuffed Palestinian detainee.” 567politics. Published 2026-11-11. https://567politics.com/news/palestine-idf-paratrooper-indictment-jalamah-detainee-abuse-yesh-din-military-justice-november-2026

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Alternate sources & perspectives

Independent coverage and primary evidence to help you compare arguments. A link is not an endorsement; perspective labels describe the linked material.

Reviewed 2026-11-11. discover_politics_sources returned only generic IDF pages, so these sources were hand-picked from pages opened on Nov. 5-11, 2026. The Times of Israel article was read earlier on Nov. 11 but later returned a Cloudflare block, so key details were cross-checked against EFE (via Infobae), WireIsrael and Ynet. The Channel 12 report was not opened directly. The detainee has not been named and his own account has not been published. No Israel Prison Service response to the Prisoners' Society claims and no court reasoning on the Gaza doctors' petitions were found.

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