Israeli Military Prosecutes Seven Engineering Unit Soldiers for Severe Abuse of Recruits

The Israeli military prosecution has filed serious charges against seven veteran soldiers from an engineering unit, accusing them of aggravated abuse against younger soldiers. The offenses occurred as part of a practice known within the unit as "Pazem games." The accused have been in custody for over six weeks as the military court prepares to try them.

According to the indictment, the veterans subjected the younger soldiers to ongoing physical violence and humiliation. The abuses included punching, assaults with weapon barrels and sticks, pepper spray attacks, confinement in rooms and toilets, and forced showers after being doused with bleach and cleaning agents. Victims were also made to sleep in storage rooms without basic conditions and were shot at with air rifle pellets.

One particularly brutal punishment, called "Hitlers," involved repeated kicks to the soldiers' shins with infantry boots, continuing even after one soldier began bleeding and limping. The indictment describes three consecutive nights where young soldiers were locked in their rooms after lights out, beaten with fists and wooden sticks on their shins, shot with air rifle pellets, and forbidden from laughing or reacting.

Many victims avoided seeking medical treatment out of fear that their injuries would be discovered, leading to further harassment and violence by the older soldiers. Military correspondent Carmela Menashe characterized this as one of the most severe abuse cases brought before the military justice system in recent years. The legal proceedings against the seven accused soldiers are ongoing in the military court.