A former IDF soldier turned whistleblower explains how Israeli authorities buried criminal charges against guards who sexually abused a Palestinian detainee — bad news for accountability and for Palestinians in Israeli custody.

• Video evidence showed IDF guards sexually abusing a Palestinian detainee, but all charges were dropped after a political pressure campaign by Netanyahu, the defense minister, and the army chief of staff.
• The detainee was sent back to Gaza so he could not testify, and authorities swapped in a friendly doctor's report from someone who never examined him.
• The army prosecutor who leaked the video to Israeli TV was fired, then found after an unclear suicide note episode, and has gone silent.
• Some of the accused guards are now treated as celebrities in Israel, with growing social media followings and TV appearances.
• Liberal Israelis are leaving the country in a brain drain, while the religious right and settler population grow, pushing the courts, media, and politics further right.

Outlook: Abuse of Palestinian detainees is likely to continue and worsen as Israel's judiciary and political checks erode and harder-right leaders rise.