JERUSALEM (Reuters) -The Israeli military’s former chief legal officer is the subject of a criminal investigation over a leaked video that appeared to show Israeli soldiers abusing a Palestinian detainee arrested during the Gaza war.
Major General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi has been arrested for questioning in a case that has sent shockwaves throughout Israel.
WHAT IS THE INVESTIGATION ABOUT?
The leaking of security camera footage from a desert military detention camp called Sde Teiman in August 2024.
The video is part of evidence against soldiers who have since been charged with grave abuse of a Palestinian detainee held at the camp.
The probe is also examining further suspicion that the leak was subsequently covered up with false reports about its source being submitted to Israel’s Supreme Court and Attorney General.
WHAT’S IN THE VIDEO?
In the summer of 2024, the military had been investigating suspicions of abuse of a detainee at Sde Teiman. That probe caused a stir in Israel and led to the criminal indictment of five Israeli reserve soldiers in February 2025.
The video appears to show soldiers taking a prisoner aside and crowding around while holding a dog and blocking their actions from view with their riot gear.
WHEN WAS THE VIDEO LEAKED?
The video was published by Israel’s N12 News outlet on August 6, 2024, around a week after right-wing protesters, including Israeli parliament members and a cabinet minister, broke into Sde Teiman and another base when soldiers there were sought for questioning over the abuse.
Sde Teiman detention camp is where some of the Hamas militants who took part in the October 7, 2023 attack that triggered the war are held, alongside Palestinians captured in subsequent months of the Gaza combat.
The protesters were angered by what they viewed as the Israeli military hounding its own troops at a time of war.
WHO LEAKED THE VIDEO AND WHY?
On October 31, Tomer-Yerushalmi announced she was resigning as Military Advocate General because she authorised the video to be leaked.
Tomer-Yerushalmi, in her resignation letter shared with the press, said she was trying to fend off propaganda against the military’s legal department which is entrusted with upholding the rule of law within the armed forces.
Tomer-Yerushalmi said that the department had been subjected to a smear campaign throughout the Gaza war. She said suspicion of violence against even the worst of prisoners must always be investigated.
WHY HAVE THERE BEEN ARRESTS IN THE CASE?
On October 29, the Israeli military and the Defence Minister Israel Katz revealed that there was an ongoing criminal investigation by police into the leaking of the video.
Justice Minister Yariv Levin said the suspicions include obstruction of justice as well as violating legal procedures.
No charges have yet been filed against Tomer-Yerushalmi, or any of the other officers questioned. She was ordered by a Magistrate’s Court to remain in custody until at least November 7 and her lawyer has declined to comment.
WHAT HAS THE IMPACT BEEN?
The case has re-ignited debate in Israel over the justice system and controversial attempts by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s nationalist government to change it. Some right-wing politicians have seized on the case. Far-right Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has called for the inquiry to be expanded into other parts of the justice system.
The case has also again raised the debate over the treatment of Palestinian prisoners and enemy combatants in Israeli jails and investigations of abuse.
(Reporting by Maayan Lubell; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
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