Less than a week ago, Major General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi occupied one of the most sensitive legal positions in Israel: the military’s Advocate General. Now, she sits under arrest, swept up in a political and legal storm after admitting to leaking a video that exposed Israeli soldiers abusing a Palestinian detainee at the Sde Teiman military base. The fallout from this leak has ricocheted through Israel’s political, legal, and military institutions—raising urgent questions about accountability, transparency, and the very soul of the nation’s democracy.
The saga began in July 2024, when Israel Defense Forces (IDF) legal authorities launched an investigation into allegations that soldiers at Sde Teiman had sexually assaulted a Palestinian detainee arrested during the Gaza war. According to CNN, whistleblowers had already flagged abuse at the facility as early as May that year. By June, the Israeli government announced it would begin phasing out Sde Teiman, but the move did little to quell public concern. Then, in August, Israel’s Channel 12 aired a video—later revealed to have been leaked by Tomer-Yerushalmi—showing soldiers beating, stabbing, and, according to some reports, sexually abusing a blindfolded detainee while others lay face-down nearby. Riot shields blocked the camera’s view, but the brutality was unmistakable.
Five reservist soldiers were indicted in February 2025 for aggravated abuse and causing serious bodily harm. They have consistently denied all charges. On Sunday, November 3, four of these soldiers appeared at a Jerusalem news conference, their faces concealed by black balaclavas, demanding that the trial against them be dismissed. Their lawyer, Adi Keidar, argued that the legal process was biased and fundamentally flawed, as reported by BBC.
But the focus of the national debate quickly shifted from the alleged crimes themselves to the act of exposing them. Tomer-Yerushalmi, a longstanding target of Israel’s right-wing political factions, was suspended from her post on October 29, 2025, as Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara announced a criminal investigation into the leak. Two days later, Tomer-Yerushalmi resigned, stating in her letter, “I approved the release of material to the media in an attempt to counter false propaganda against the army’s law enforcement authorities.” She added, “Any material released to the media from my unit was my responsibility.”
Her admission ignited a political firestorm. Defense Minister Israel Katz lambasted her conduct, declaring, “Anyone who spreads blood libels against IDF troops is unfit to wear the army’s uniform.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu went even further, calling the leak “the most dangerous assault on Israel’s image since its establishment in 1948,” and later describing it as “the worst PR disaster in Israel’s history,” according to Asia Pacific Report and CNN. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir labeled Tomer-Yerushalmi’s actions “criminal behavior under a legal guise” and demanded a special prosecutor be appointed.
Meanwhile, the Sde Teiman incident exposed deep fissures in Israeli society. Right-wing politicians and protesters, including some lawmakers, stormed the military facility in support of the accused reservists. The right largely viewed the video leak as an act of defamation—some even called it treason—while the left saw Tomer-Yerushalmi’s decision to release the footage as a rare moment of accountability, consistent with longstanding reports of abuse against Palestinian detainees since the October 2023 Hamas-led attacks. According to BBC, “It is our duty to investigate whenever there is reasonable suspicion of acts of violence against a detainee,” Tomer-Yerushalmi insisted in her resignation letter.
The international community was quick to weigh in. The United Nations released a report alleging widespread abuse, torture, and sexual violence against detainees from Gaza, charges the Israeli government has repeatedly denied. The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), a bloc of 57 Muslim-majority countries, condemned Israel’s proposed death penalty law for terrorism suspects—backed by Netanyahu and Ben-Gvir—as “discriminatory and legally untenable.” The OIC called for international protective measures for the Palestinian people and urged the global community to intervene.
As the political temperature rose, Tomer-Yerushalmi herself became the focus of a dramatic manhunt. On Sunday, November 3, reports emerged that she was missing, prompting a massive search. The IDF announced it would “employ all means available” to locate her. She was eventually found safe on a beach north of Tel Aviv, in Herzliya. That evening, police arrested her on suspicion of multiple offenses: fraud and breach of trust, abuse of official power, obstruction of justice, and disclosure of information by a public official. She is also suspected of misleading the High Court of Justice and submitting a false affidavit. Alongside Tomer-Yerushalmi, former chief military prosecutor Col. Matan Solomosh and other senior military legal officials are also under investigation, bringing the total number of suspects to five.
The legal and political consequences are still unfolding. Tomer-Yerushalmi has not yet been formally charged or entered a plea. Her next hearing is scheduled for Wednesday. Her lawyer has declined to comment on the case. The accused soldiers’ trial remains ongoing, but the prosecution’s prospects appear uncertain—especially since the Palestinian detainee at the center of the case has been returned to Gaza as part of a US-brokered ceasefire, making it unlikely he will be available to testify.
The affair has become a flashpoint in a broader struggle over the rule of law in Israel. Justice Minister Yariv Levin, a key Netanyahu ally, has sought to bar Attorney General Baharav-Miara from probing the leak, arguing that her own involvement should be scrutinized. Baharav-Miara’s office has pushed back, accusing Levin of “unlawfully interfering” with the investigation and impeding its progress. According to CNN, Levin declared, “The lies that have been built here over the years, while trampling on the rights of entire populations and severely harming the security of the state and IDF soldiers, are gradually falling apart.”
Outside Israel, the incident has fueled further criticism of the government’s handling of alleged abuses. A former UK minister, Alistair Burt, publicly regretted his silence over the death of Palestinian nurse Razan al-Najjar in 2018, calling Israeli pledges to investigate such incidents “bogus” and describing Najjar’s killing as murder, according to Asia Pacific Report.
For now, the Sde Teiman leak remains a symbol of Israel’s deepening internal divisions—between those who see the exposure of wrongdoing as an act of necessary courage, and those who view it as a betrayal of national solidarity in a time of war. As the legal process grinds on, the case is sure to test the resilience of Israel’s institutions and its commitment to the rule of law, even under the most trying circumstances.
