One of the detained Force 100 soldiers has been confirmed to be a member of the Druze community. The community did not publish the news of the arrest, but after another appeal by the soldiers was rejected, they decided to start a campaign to prove their innocence.
Sources in the community announced to its members the start of a campaign, and that the public campaign is expected to escalate already this coming Sunday. Hundreds of community members are expected to demonstrate Friday at 16:00 in Beit Lid, near another hearing that will be held regarding the soldiers.
One of the community members who is expected to lead the campaign said: "Until now we were silent - but they've crossed the line. We are doing everything, fighting for months, and you are simply spitting in our faces."
"We call on everyone who cares about the soldiers: Come out and show everyone that we have support, come out and show that the sane citizens in the State of Israel respect the soldiers. We also announce: We will not remain silent if the situation continues, the protest will intensify as long as the soldiers remain in detention," he added.
On Thursday, the Military Court of Appeals rejected the appeal filed by attorneys Adi Keidar and Nati Rom from the Honenu organization against the extension of the detention of the soldiers suspected of abusing a captured terrorist terrorist.
After an extended discussion on all the defense's claims, and after the military court reviewed all the investigative materials and the evidence presented by the defense, the judges ordered the appeal to be rejected, and the suspects will remain in custody until Sunday.
However, regarding the leak of investigative materials, the court ruled that, "The military prosecution is requested to deal promptly with the issue of the disclosure of investigative materials to the media, in light of the claims of possible harm to the integrity of the process."
Previously, it was revealed by Kan that the Institute of Forensic Medicine was requested by the Military Police investigators to provide an opinion on whether the terrorist had indeed been abused, but the Institute could not decide without viewing the investigative material.
The Institute emphasized that since the findings on the terrorist's body were not documented and he has been operated on, there are no findings to rely on except for the reports provided by the doctors who treated him. These are reports that are not conclusive evidence to prove that abuse indeed occurred.
According to a medical report, the detained terrorist was brought for examination at the Sde Teiman base clinic late at night and told the examining doctor that he was in pain due to a fall. The doctor noted in the report that there was no evidence of a wound or source of bleeding that the detainee suffered from and added that he decided to evacuate the detainee to a hospital due to suspected ongoing internal bleeding.
A hospital report indicated that he suffered injuries to the head, chest, and abdomen. There was no definitive determination connected to abuse. A senior medical source who was exposed to the documents said that they could not be used as evidence to confirm or dismiss the suspicions.