JERUSALEM, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) court has sentenced a reservist soldier to seven months in prison for abusing Palestinian detainees, the IDF said in a statement on Thursday.

The soldier, who pleaded guilty, served as a security guard at the Sde Teiman detention camp in southern Israel, used by the IDF to hold Gazans captured during its conflict with Hamas.

The soldier's bullying was exposed in June last year after IDF commanders at the detention facility noticed signs of severe violence and bruises on Palestinian detainees.

He was convicted of hitting detainees with his fists and weapons on several occasions when they were handcuffed and blindfolded, and of coercing them to recite anti-Arab and pro-Israel slogans.

The statement said these acts were committed in the presence of other soldiers, some of whom had told him to stop, and a video recording of the abuse was found on the soldier's smartphone. It did not name the soldier.

The prison sentence and a reduction in military rank were determined as the court approved a plea bargain with the soldier.

The court ruled that the defendant's actions were serious and grave, and that "IDF soldiers must use the force entrusted to them under IDF values and orders, at all times, particularly in times of war."

It added that the plea bargain was accepted after considering the soldier's actions in light of his personal circumstances, his acceptance of responsibility following a mediation process, and the substantial period of imprisonment he still faces. Enditem

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