Hila, the wife of a detained soldier; Photo credit: Honenu
Tuesday, July 30, 2024, 15:20 Hila, the wife of one of the soldiers detained yesterday at the Sde Teiman military base on suspicion of assaulting a Nukhba terrorist prisoner, leveled sharp criticism at the Military Advocate General over his detention: “On October 7, my husband went out to protect all of us. He left his home, his family, and his job. He left his life behind. My husband lost his father in a terror attack 22 years ago. He went on reserve duty with a great feeling of purpose and love of Israel. He went out to defend all of us. Now we feel like criminals. They are treating us as if we committed a crime. The Chief Military Advocate and all of the lawyers in the Military Advocate General office would not last a minute with what he and his friends are contending. My husband did his job as best as could be done, under tough conditions, in a difficult situation, guarding murderers, rapists, and the most vicious terrorists in the history of the State. He performed his duties professionally and with great devotion. He is an Israeli patriot who should have received a medal, not found himself in a detention cell.”
Honenu Attorneys Nati Rom and Adi Keidar are representing some of the detained soldiers: Attorney Rom: “We hope that the lawyers of the Military Advocate General office will come to their senses. The evidence in the case against our clients is very weak. Soldiers risked their lives over long months, as their families greatly suffered, at a job that nobody else could do in their stead – not the Military Criminal Investigation Division (MCID), and not the Military Advocate General, who would probably have been broken after one day at their job, and certainly after a week. The soldiers were summoned to assist with an incident, and they were attacked. We hope that their innocence will be proven quickly, and that they will be released. Their honor and that of the State of Israel must be restored. Someone must pay the price for the errors that were made. Today, we heard an admission that the soldiers’ detention by masked investigators from the MCID was erroneous. We heard that the investigations against our clients were initiated after testimonies were obtained from Nukhba terrorists who had been released to the Gaza Strip and were contacted and asked if they had any complaints against the soldiers who guarded them. This is insane. This rationale must be abandoned immediately. We are waging an existential war.”
Yesterday, Honenu Attorneys Rom and Keidar were prevented on various pretexts from meeting with the detainees and granting them legal counsel.