The Palestinian detainee who was allegedly abused by five soldiers at Sde Teiman was returned by the military to Gaza in October as part of the exchange of Palestinian prisoners for Israeli hostages.
Despite the intense interest and scrutiny surrounding the case, the IDF did not publicize its decision to release the detainee at the time.
His release was leaked to the media, at which time the IDF still had not explained why he was released if he was needed as a critical witness in the case against the five soldiers.
Further, the army had not explained why he, reportedly, was not even questioned about the incident.
Later, the IDF responded to inquiries on the matter, accusing the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and the Israel Prisons Services of releasing the detainee.
However, The Jerusalem Post pointed out to the IDF Spokesperson’s Office that it was the military’s Legal Division that had chosen not to question the detainee for over a year since the incident in July 2024, and that also decided not to question him even once it started to learn that he might soon be released to Gaza.
The spokesperson had no explanation to address these issues, raising larger questions about who decided not to question him and why.
The Shin Bet did not respond, but security sources said that any prisoners given to Hamas met the criteria set by the government.
According to the indictment, the five IDF soldiers took part in different aspects of beating him and breaking several of his ribs, as well as shoving an object up his anus.
Video involving terrorist center of leak scandal surrounding ex-MAG Tomer-Yerushalmi
The news about his release broke as the country has been battered with dramatic development after development regarding the fate of former IDF chief lawyer Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, who resigned last Friday after admitting to illegally leaking a video allegedly showing the five soldiers beating the detainee.
The video would be expected to be presented at trial, but it is illegal for law enforcement to leak such evidentiary material before the trial.
Some supporters of the IDF Legal Division have said that the defendants had been presented with the video before it was leaked, which might reduce the severity of their alleged violation.