(Washington, D.C., March 12, 2026) – In response to the Israeli military prosecutor's decision to drop charges against five soldiers accused of assaulting and raping a Palestinian detainee at the Sde Teiman prison, DAWN issues the following statement:
"The Israeli military prosecutor's decision to drop charges in a case where the assault was captured on video demonstrates again that there is no justice to be found in the Israeli justice system for Palestinians," said Omar Shakir, DAWN's executive director. "Impunity fuels Israel's systematic torture and sexual violence and sends the message that even the most heinous crimes are permissible against Palestinians."
"The politicization of this case, for which the former chief prosecutor is still facing criminal charges while the alleged rapists walk free, should remove any doubt that the only prospect for accountability lies with international institutions and third states," said Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man, DAWN's director for Israel-Palestine. "The United States has sanctioned abusive prison officials in other countries and it should do the same for Israel."
"The United States is providing taxpayer-funded assistance to torturers, and the State Department cannot justify it," said Charles Blaha, a DAWN Senior Advisor and 32-year State Department veteran. "The United States should end its blank-check policy with Israel."
Background:
On March 12, 2026, Israeli military prosecutors announced that they were dropping charges against five soldiers who were accused of assaulting a Palestinian detainee at Sde Teiman prison. Video footage captured soldiers, partially blocked by other soldiers holding riot shields, raping a detainee. The detainee subsequently underwent surgery for a perforated rectum and was also treated for fractured ribs. Israeli authorities released to Gaza the victim as part of the October 2025 hostage-exchange deal, effectively guaranteeing that he would not be able to testify against his assailants.
The decision to bring charges had prompted an ultranationalist mob, including government officials, to storm the prison in an attempt to protect the accused guards. The Israeli army's top prosecutor, the military advocate general who leaked the video, was forced to resign and is herself facing criminal charges for leaking the video. Israeli authorities are implementing "a systemic, institutional policy focused on the continual abuse and torture of all Palestinian prisoners," as the Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem found in an August 2024 report based on dozens of testimonies of torture, physical abuse, sexual violence, starvation, and withholding medical care in Israeli detention.
In June 2025, DAWN petitioned the United States government and five other countries to impose sanctions on three Israeli prison commanders and the government minister in charge of Israeli prisons, Itamar Ben Gvir. DAWN is unaware of any actions taken by the U.S. or any other country in relation to torture and abuse of Palestinians in Israeli prisons.
In 2024, State Department and U.S. Embassy Jerusalem officials reportedly unanimously recommended to then-Secretary of State Blinken that the US prohibit Israeli security force units operating inside Sde Teiman from receiving U.S. assistance under the Leahy law due to their torture of Palestinian detainees. Both Blinken and current Secretary Rubio have ignored that recommendation.
