The closure of an investigation into alleged torture by Israeli settlers and soldiers highlights the near-total impunity surrounding escalating violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.

As the Israeli government faces increasing scrutiny for its enabling of settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, the Israel Defence Forces has reportedly closed an investigation into one of the most brutal assaults documented in recent memory. Nobody has been charged.

Haaretz reported on Friday that the Military Advocate General’s Office has closed its investigation into an incident from October 12, 2023, in which about two dozen armed settlers attacked the village of Wadi as-Seeq, about 10 miles east of Ramallah, where most residents had been driven out by violence by a nearby Israeli outpost.

Three Palestinian men who had remained in the village to help evacuate the local Bedouin community were detained by the gang of Israelis, who they said tortured them for hours, stripping them naked, beating them, urinating on them, burning them with cigarettes, and sexually abusing them.

Several Israeli peace activists also said they were attacked during the incident and corroborated much of the testimony of the Palestinian victims.

A photo of the three men stripped, bound, and blindfolded quickly made international headlines and drew........

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