Newspaper: 20,000 Israeli soldiers imprisoned each year

Some 20,000 Israeli soldiers are held in military prisons every year, Quds Press reported an Israeli paper as saying yesterday.

Quds Press reported Yedioth Ahronoth as saying that Israeli military prisons are full, with most detainees being held for disciplinary issues.

“The number of soldiers sent to prison is unreasonable,” when compared to the number of soldiers in mandatory service, the newspaper added.

According to the paper, 71 per cent of the soldiers were prosecuted for absence from service, and 21 per cent of them were prosecuted for “breaches of discipline”. However, the others were prosecuted for criminal offences.

The newspaper said that the maximum period the soldiers spend behind bars is three months.

It also said that most of these soldiers come from the minor combatant and internal units, not from the active combatant units.