JERUSALEM — In a stunning turn amid Israel’s ongoing Gaza conflict, police on Sunday night arrested Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, the former top legal officer of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), hours after she was reported missing and sparked a frantic search along Tel Aviv beaches. The dramatic arrest stems from her admitted role in leaking a graphic surveillance video last year that allegedly showed IDF reservists brutally abusing a Palestinian detainee at the Sde Teiman military base, igniting a firestorm of political backlash and accusations of a cover-up.
Tomer-Yerushalmi, who served as Military Advocate General until her resignation on Friday amid the probe, was detained alongside former chief military prosecutor Col. Matan Solomosh. Both face multiple charges, including fraud and breach of trust, abuse of office, obstruction of justice, and unauthorized disclosure of classified information by a public servant. A Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court on Monday ordered their remand until Wednesday noon, with prosecutors arguing they posed a flight risk and might tamper with evidence in the ongoing investigation. Police suspect Tomer-Yerushalmi staged her disappearance—complete with a note interpreted as a suicide letter—to dispose of her phone, potentially containing incriminating messages or files.
The scandal traces back to July 5, 2024, when five IDF reservists allegedly assaulted a handcuffed and blindfolded Palestinian detainee during a search at Sde Teiman, a remote southern facility notorious for holding Gazans captured in the war. The leaked footage, broadcast by Channel 12 in August 2024, captured soldiers crowding around the man with riot shields, blocking views as he was reportedly beaten, stabbed near the rectum with a sharp object, and subjected to severe violence—resulting in cracked ribs, a punctured lung, and an internal rectal tear. The IDF confirmed in February 2025 that it had indicted the five soldiers for aggravated abuse and serious bodily harm, backed by surveillance cams, medical records, and witness accounts, though not explicitly for sexual assault.
Tomer-Yerushalmi confessed to authorizing the leak, framing it as a desperate counter to “incited mobs” from far-right politicians and protesters who stormed Sde Teiman and another base in July 2024 to block investigations. She argued it protected her office’s integrity amid smears during the 13-month Gaza war, triggered by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack that killed 1,200 Israelis and took 251 hostages. However, investigators allege she and Solomosh then misled superiors and the Supreme Court with false reports on an internal probe, deepening the obstruction charges.
This facility has become a flashpoint for allegations of systemic detainee mistreatment. A October 2024 UN inquiry documented “widespread and systematic” torture, rape, and sexual violence against thousands of Palestinian prisoners in IDF camps, labeling it war crimes and crimes against humanity. Israel rejected the findings as “outrageous,” insisting compliance with international law, but rights groups like B’Tselem have decried Sde Teiman as a “black hole” of abuse since the war’s outset.
Public and political reactions have fractured along familiar lines. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, a hardline ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, hailed the arrests on Telegram as vital to uncovering a “blood libel” against IDF soldiers, vowing a “professional” probe. Netanyahu, speaking after a cabinet meeting, slammed the leak as Israel’s “most severe public relations attack” in history, exacerbating global scrutiny during the conflict that has claimed over 43,000 Palestinian lives per Gaza health officials. Yedioth Ahronoth’s editorial decried the video’s exposure as a “heavy blow” to Israel’s legitimacy and IDF morale.
Opposition voices, including legal experts, decried the detentions as politically motivated retribution. MK Gilad Kariv of the Labor Party called it a “witch hunt” against the judiciary, while Haaretz columnist Gideon Levy argued the real scandal is the unchecked abuses, not the whistleblowing. The affair coincides with Netanyahu’s revived push to curb judicial powers—halted by the war—fueling fears of eroded oversight on military actions. Internationally, Amnesty International urged an independent inquiry, warning the arrests “silence accountability” for war crimes.
For U.S. audiences, with deep ties to Israel via $3.8 billion annual aid and shared democratic values, this episode underscores tensions in bilateral relations. The Biden administration, already strained by Gaza aid blockades, faces pressure from progressive Democrats like Rep. Rashida Tlaib to condition funding on detainee protections, while pro-Israel groups like AIPAC decry the leak as anti-military sabotage. Economically, it risks amplifying boycotts on Israeli tech exports; politically, it bolsters ICC probes into Netanyahu for alleged atrocities, potentially complicating U.S. vetoes at the UN Security Council.
As the court hearing unfolds, Defense Minister Israel Katz is accelerating the search for Tomer-Yerushalmi’s successor, with analysts predicting a loyalist appointment to align with Netanyahu’s coalition. The case, blending personal drama with national reckoning, lays bare the war’s corrosive toll on Israel’s institutions.
In summary, the arrest of Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi over the Sde Teiman leak exposes raw fault lines in Israel’s justice system and military ethics amid the Gaza quagmire. Looking ahead, deeper probes could indict more officials or spark judicial reforms, but amid escalating political vendettas, true accountability for detainee abuses remains elusive, with global implications for Israel’s standing.
By Mark Smith
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