Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz recently met with the soldiers responsible for raping a Palestinian prisoner at the Sde Teiman torture facility, ordering their reinstatement to the army and apologizing to them for the “injustice” they faced.
The meeting came days after the charges against them were officially dropped.
According to Hebrew media reports, including Channel 14, the soldiers from Force 100 attended the meeting with Katz wearing masks, in order to conceal their identities.
During the meeting, Katz told the soldiers, “I apologize for the injustice the system has done to you,” referring to the investigations opened against them and the “psychological harm” he said was caused by the military legal process.
Military sources told the Jerusalem Post they were “surprised” by Katz’s order to reinstate the soldiers, as the war chief “has the power to approve or hold up certain senior appointments, but not the power to order the army to return soldiers to service who have been caught up in legal proceedings.”
The sources added that they were “skeptical that any reinstatement would actually occur.”
The meeting came after the Israeli army’s top lawyer ordered the cancellation of the indictment against the five soldiers.
Among the reasons for the cancellation was “complexity regarding the existing evidence.”
It also cited the five soldiers’ claim of “abuse of process.” A video of the sexual assault had been leaked by Israel’s former military advocate general, resulting in two arrests and a major scandal late last year.
