Sde Teiman and Beit Lid Events: A Reading into the Militiazation of the Israeli State

Policy analysis by Mohanad Mustafa examining the August 2024 storming of the Sde Teiman military detention center for Gaza detainees and the Beit Lid military base by right-wing groups supported by Knesset members, following the arrest of soldiers accused of raping a Palestinian detainee. The article uses these events to analyze a broader abandonment of the concept of Israeli “statism” in favor of a militia mentality. The piece covers the historical roots of Ben-Gurion's statism project, the right's effort to weaken state institutions in favor of settlements in the West Bank, and state complicity in militia violence against Palestinians in Israel and the occupied West Bank. This article is valuable for research on Palestinian citizens of Israel, Israeli settler violence, sexual violence against Palestinians, the Israeli military, and statism.