A Palestinian detainee has been gang-raped by Israeli soldiers at the Sde Teiman Prison in the Negev desert in southern Israel, according to Israeli media.

Israeli public broadcaster KAN, citing a security source, said on Monday the detainee was taken to a hospital with severe injuries to an intimate body part, which left him without the ability to walk.

KAN said Israeli Police investigators arrived at the detention facility to detain the soldiers involved in the rape

The Israeli military said it was holding nine soldiers for questioning following allegations of “substantial abuse” of a detainee at a shadowy facility where Israel has held Palestinian prisoners.

‘Abysmal conditions’

An investigation by The Associated Press and reports by rights groups have exposed “abysmal conditions” at the Sde Teiman facility, the country’s largest detention centre.

A report by the United Nations Agency for Palestinian Refugees, UNRWA, earlier this year said that detainees alleged they were subjected to ill-treatment and abuse while in Israeli custody, without specifying the facility.

The Israeli military has generally denied ill-treatment of detainees.

Israeli media reported that military police officers who arrived at Sde Teiman in southern Israel to detain the soldiers were met with protests and scuffles.

The detentions of soldiers prompted an outcry among members of Israel’s far-right government, who condemned the investigation into their conduct, saying it was an affront to their service.