THE Israeli military said today that it was holding nine soldiers for questioning following allegations of “substantial abuse” of a detainee at a shadowy facility where Palestinian prisoners have been held since the start of the Gaza invasion.

The military did not disclose any details of the alleged abuse, saying only that its top legal official had launched a probe, but an investigation by the Associated Press news agency and reports by human rights groups have exposed abysmal conditions at the Sde Teiman facility, the country’s largest detention centre.

Earlier this year, UNRWA, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, reported allegations by detainees that they had suffered ill-treatment and abuse, without specifying where.