The […] police on Wednesday arrested protesters outside the IDF's Sde Teiman detention center as they demonstrated against the reinstatement of two reservists accused of abusing a Gazan detainee in 2024.

When the reservists, members of the unit known as "Force 100," tasked with guarding Palestinian detainees at the facility, were arrested at the same site two years ago, a right-wing protest erupted, during which a mob breached the base, and dozens of demonstrators remained inside for about an hour. None of those involved in the incident, which included coalition lawmakers, were arrested.

The four protesters arrested on Wednesday are members of the Meshanim Kivun ("Changing Direction") movement. According to their lawyer, Yoni Nussbaum of the Protest Detainee Legal Support Front, they are being held at the Be'er Sheva police station on suspicion of endangering human life on a transportation route, obstructing a police officer, unauthorized entry into a military base and causing a public disturbance. He added that their phones were confiscated.

One of the signs the protesters held right outside the detention center read: "International Bible Contest — Sde Teiman Version: According to the Bible, what is the fate of those who support suspects of sexual abuse and prevent them from being brought to justice?"

The police stated that "a police officer and forces operating at the scene removed the protesters from the road, but they returned and blocked the entrance to the base."

The military recently decided to return two of the accused soldiers to reserve duty, even though the inquiry into their case — which is supposed to determine whether they can return to service — has not yet concluded.

Sources in the IDF told Haaretz that the two were reinstated by an officer in Southern Command whose identity remains unknown. The officer, they said, issued call-up orders without prior authorization.

The IDF Spokesperson's Unit said in response that the activation of the two reservists violated official procedures and that an investigation had been opened to identify those responsible. "The Chief of Staff did not order their return to service," it added.

Last month, the military advocate general, Itay Offir, ordered the indictment dropped in the case. The military advocate general cited several reasons for his decision, including a defense of fairness argument due to "the conduct of senior officials in the Military Advocate General's Corps and the IDF's law enforcement system in this case, and its unusual and unprecedented circumstances."

Offir justified his decision by noting "complexities regarding the existing evidentiary basis" and the fact that the Palestinian detainee was released to the Gaza Strip, which raises evidentiary difficulties.