The Israeli Prison Service said at the time that, in relation to one of the men, it was “not aware of the claims described”, adding that “We operate in full accordance with the law.” It did not comment on the second man’s claims.
Also last year, five soldiers were charged with assaulting a Palestinian detainee from Gaza at Sde Teiman military prison, including one who was accused of “stabbing the detainee’s buttock with a sharp object”. The case polarized opinion in Israel, with right-wing supporters accusing the left-wing of using the incident to smear the security forces.
It later emerged that CCTV video of the incident had been leaked by the then-Israeli Military Advocate General, Maj Gen Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, leading to her resignation and arrest.
The charges against the five soldiers were dropped in March this year.
Lawyers in Israel specialising in defamation told the BBC that while there were ways the state could bring the case to court there, it would be challenging.
“In the State of Israel, filing a civil claim in this context has a low likelihood of success, given that the Defamation Law prevents the bringing of a civil action by a collective, and the legal system does not encourage defamation suits by governmental bodies as a matter of public policy, due to considerations of protection for freedom of speech,” said Liat Bergman Ravid.
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