Israel’s Top Military Lawyer Arrested After She Admitted Leaking Video of Soldiers’ Abuse

Rightwing politicians and pundits have called the soldiers accused of attack on Palestinian detainee ‘heroes’ and military investigators traitors

The detention of the military advocate general, Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, raises questions about the rule of law in Israel. Photograph: Oren Ben Hakoon/AP

JERUSALEM (TWP) — Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, until last week Israel’s top military lawyer, is now behind bars amid a scandal that has captivated the nation. Her sudden resignation, brief disappearance, and eventual discovery on a Tel Aviv beach have intensified scrutiny of both her actions and the political climate in Israel.

The controversy began when Tomer-Yerushalmi admitted last week to approving the leak of a surveillance video tied to a politically charged investigation into alleged severe abuse of a Palestinian detainee at a military prison.

The footage reportedly shows part of an assault in which Israeli soldiers were accused of sexually abusing the detainee. Tomer-Yerushalmi said she leaked the video last year to highlight the seriousness of the allegations her office was examining. Instead, her decision drew sharp criticism from Israel’s hard-line political figures. Following her resignation, she faced continued personal attacks.

Authorities launched a search after she left a cryptic note for her family and abandoned her car near a beach, sparking fears she might have attempted suicide. The search involved military drones and concluded Sunday night when she was found alive on the beach.

Right-wing commentator Yinon Magal, an ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, posted on X, “We can resume the lynch,” with a winking emoji, reflecting the hostility directed toward Tomer-Yerushalmi.

After it was revealed that one of her phones was missing, some politicians and commentators suggested she might have staged a suicide attempt to obstruct the investigation.

The episode highlights the ongoing political tensions in Israel, exacerbated by two years of war and the deep divisions that existed before Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack. Tomer-Yerushalmi is the latest in a series of high-ranking security officials to resign or be removed, many replaced by figures seen as loyal to Netanyahu’s government.

Focus on leak overs abuse allegations

During a court hearing Monday, a judge extended Tomer-Yerushalmi’s detention until Wednesday on suspicion of fraud, breach of trust, and obstruction of justice. She is being held in a women’s prison in central Israel while the investigation continues.

Israeli media reported that former chief military prosecutor Col. Matan Solomesh was also arrested in connection with the investigation. The prime minister’s office has declined to comment on Solomesh’s arrest.

The public outrage over the leaked video has, for now, shifted attention away from the underlying allegations of abuse.

According to the indictment, the assault took place on July 5, 2024, at Sde Teiman military prison. The footage, which Israeli media have aired, shows soldiers taking the detainee into a shielded area, apparently attempting to conceal their actions. The indictment alleges the detainee was assaulted and sodomized with a knife, sustaining multiple injuries.

A medical professional familiar with the case, speaking anonymously, said the detainee arrived at a civilian hospital in critical condition with blunt trauma to the abdomen and chest, along with fractured ribs. He underwent surgery for a perforated rectum before being returned to Sde Teiman days later. The staffer described it as the most severe case of abuse he had witnessed at the prison.

Military police attempting to detain the accused soldiers faced protests at Sde Teiman, and hundreds later broke into the detention center in a violent demonstration.

In her resignation letter, Tomer-Yerushalmi stated that she had revealed the evidence to counter claims that the military was unfairly protecting its soldiers, a perception that threatened the integrity of military law enforcement.

She wrote, “The military has a duty to investigate when there is reasonable suspicion of violence against a detainee. Unfortunately, this basic understanding — that there are actions which must never be taken even against the vilest of detainees — no longer convinces everyone.”

The Palestinian detainee in the video was returned to Gaza last month as part of an exchange between living hostages and Palestinian prisoners, according to military prosecutor documents obtained by the AP. The case remains before a military court.

Complex legal issues under review

Yohanan Plesner, president of the Israel Democracy Institute in Jerusalem, said three distinct legal questions are central to the investigation: whether soldiers abused Palestinian detainees, whether Israeli civilians, including lawmakers, interfered with the investigation, and whether Tomer-Yerushalmi committed offenses such as fraud in connection with the leak.

The heightened rhetoric recalls the divisions in Israel leading up to the Oct. 7 attack, when debates over Netanyahu’s judicial reforms had deeply polarized the country.

Plesner said the brief concern over Tomer-Yerushalmi’s safety should serve as a caution to the public and media about the personal consequences of heated discourse.

“It was very sad to see how the internal discourse can bring about such potentially tragic outcome on a personal level,” he said.

The timing of the court appearance coincided with Israel’s official memorial for the 30th anniversary of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination, widely regarded as a symbol of the country’s most intense period of internal division and incitement.

Plesner said the recent events may foreshadow a return to similar levels of political and social tension. “There’s a way to debate our differences in a democratic society,” he said.