On Wednesday morning the Supreme Court discussed the petitions of left-wing organizations regarding the imprisonment conditions of Nukhba terrorists in the Sde Teiman base.
According to the petitioners, "Sde Teiman has been used by the IDF for the incarceration of suspected illegal fighters since the beginning of the war, and as far as is known, over 1,000 have been detained there in facilities similar to animal pens, without beds or any other provisions. Testimonies to incidents at the base revealed an unimaginable situation of cruelty and abuse towards the prisoners."
The state representative informed the judges that, as of this morning, only thirty prisoners are being held at the facility and only three are at the adjacent field hospital. All others have been transferred in recent weeks to the Prison Services detention facilities.
Attorney Aner Hellman of the Supreme Court Department: "In the next few days, more detainees will be transferred from Sde Teiman to the Ofer Prison, so the number will be reduced even more. But, the base must continue to operate to receive more detainees from Gaza."
During the session, bereaved and hostage families expressed intense outrage at the very discussion about the terrorists. "Who made you Jews?" called out a representative of one of the bereaved families. "They burned people alive. They raped and murdered men and women. This is something that even animals don’t do. There must be only one outcome for them – the punishment of death. Then there will be no problem of space and there will be no false accusations against IDF soldiers."
"Our children are hostages in Gaza, who cares about their conditions? Who cares about Kfir Bibas?" the outraged families shouted at the Supreme Court judges, “You should be ashamed of yourselves.”
Acting Supreme Court President, Uzi Vogelman responded: "Ladies and gentlemen, we are in the State of Israel. Whether you like it or not Israel is a state of law. Court hearings must be held quietly."
"Did you see the video where they were standing on the dead bodies? The Honorable Judge tells me that 'this is a country of law' – this is a country of laughter. The Supreme Court should have been closed down yesterday. You are all invited to witness the injustice. I am crying the cry of all the hostages together. They are trying to improve the imprisonment conditions of the Nukhba terrorists. What is going on? You have to take all these terrorists, tie them up, throw them into a pit and I will come and light the match," one of the women replied to the judge. The court guards removed the bereaved and hostage families from the courtroom.
When the hearing resumed, Judge Vogelman said that while he understands that this is a sensitive topic, courts in Israel work according to law and the court cannot accept an attempt to disrupt a legal discussion. Anyone who tries to disrupt the discussion will have to leave the courtroom.
Chairman of the Noam political party, Deputy Minister Avi Maoz, responded, "There is one common element between the Supreme Court discussions on the conditions of the Nukhba terrorists and the attempt by the Chief Military Prosecutor to discredit IDF soldiers – both reflect the distorted progressive view that there is no difference between Nukhba terrorists and our heroic IDF soldiers. Equality before the law? Nothing and no person can be compared to the evil of Gaza. The people of Israel have stopped being silent. In the end, the people of Israel will also win."
