On Friday, October 31, 2025, Israel’s top military legal officer, Major-General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, announced her resignation, igniting a political and ethical firestorm across the country and beyond. Her decision came after she took responsibility for the leak of a harrowing video that showed Israeli soldiers at the Sde Teiman detention facility sexually abusing a Palestinian detainee, an incident that has since drawn widespread condemnation, protests, and fierce debate over accountability within the Israeli military.
The video, originally broadcast on Israel’s Channel 12 news in August 2024, depicted a scene that many found deeply disturbing. According to BBC, the footage showed soldiers at Sde Teiman taking aside a Palestinian detainee, surrounding him with riot shields to block visibility, and stabbing him in the rectum with a sharp object. The detainee was later hospitalized for severe injuries and was reportedly unable to walk afterwards. The incident, as described by Truthout, was so egregious that it prompted an internal military investigation and led to criminal charges against five reserve soldiers, who have since denied the allegations.
Major-General Tomer-Yerushalmi, who had been placed on leave earlier that week as the criminal inquiry ramped up, admitted in her resignation letter that she had authorized the leak. She explained her motivation as an attempt to counter what she described as “false propaganda against the army’s law enforcement authorities.” She wrote, “I approved the release of material to the media in an attempt to counter false propaganda against the army’s law enforcement authorities.” She continued, “It is our duty to investigate whenever there is reasonable suspicion of acts of violence against a detainee.” (BBC)
Her statement reflected a broader tension within the Israeli establishment. As Truthout reported, Tomer-Yerushalmi emphasized the legal and ethical obligation to investigate unlawful acts, even during wartime: “The [Israeli Defense Forces (IDF)] is a moral and law-abiding army. Therefore, even in a prolonged and painful war, there is an obligation to investigate suspicions of unlawful acts. This is our legal and ethical duty. It does not weaken or harm the IDF. On the contrary. It is a source of strength.”
Yet, her actions were met with swift and harsh backlash from Israel’s right-wing political establishment. Defense Minister Israel Katz was unequivocal in his response, stating, “Anyone who spreads blood libels against IDF troops is unfit to wear the army’s uniform.” (Reuters, BBC) Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir went further, welcoming Tomer-Yerushalmi’s resignation and demanding further inquiries into other legal authorities. Ben-Gvir also posted a video of himself standing over Palestinian prisoners, calling for the death penalty for those involved in the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks that triggered the ongoing war.
The fallout from the video’s leak was immediate and intense. According to BBC and Reuters, after military police questioned 11 reservists over the incident, hundreds of right-wing protesters stormed the Sde Teiman facility in support of the accused soldiers. The protests quickly escalated, with demonstrators clashing with security forces and demanding the soldiers’ release. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, reflecting the sentiments of many ultranationalist politicians, called the accused soldiers “heroic warriors.”
While the incident at Sde Teiman has garnered significant attention, it is far from isolated. Human rights organizations and the United Nations have repeatedly raised alarms about the treatment of Palestinian detainees in Israeli custody. A 2024 UN commission of inquiry reported that thousands of detainees from Gaza had been “subjected to widespread and systematic abuse, physical and psychological violence, and sexual and gender-based violence amounting to the war crime and crime against humanity of torture and the war crime of rape and other forms of sexual violence.” Israel, for its part, has strongly denied these accusations, insisting that it is “fully committed to international legal standards” and that “thorough investigations” are conducted into every complaint (BBC).
The Sde Teiman detention facility, located in southern Israel, has become a focal point for both domestic and international criticism. Rights groups have documented a pattern of abuse at the camp, including frequent beatings, poor conditions, and indefinite detention without charge. Many released detainees have reported being held for months with scant access to food or medical care. According to AP, the military is currently investigating dozens of cases of alleged abuse but maintains that such incidents are not systematic.
In her resignation letter, Tomer-Yerushalmi did not shy away from acknowledging the gravity of the situation. She described the detainees as “terror operatives of the worst kind,” but stressed that “there are actions which must never be taken even against the vilest of detainees.” She lamented, “Unfortunately, this basic understanding — that there are actions which must never be taken even against the vilest of detainees — no longer convinces everyone.” (AP, Truthout)
The case has also reignited broader debates within Israeli society about the role and independence of the military’s legal apparatus. Human rights advocates have long argued that the office of the military advocate general faces immense pressure from politicians to avoid prosecuting soldiers accused of misconduct. The controversy surrounding Tomer-Yerushalmi’s resignation comes amid ongoing efforts by Israeli leaders to overhaul the judicial system, which many see as a check on government power.
Meanwhile, the war in Gaza and the treatment of Palestinian detainees continue to draw international scrutiny. Around 1,700 Gaza detainees were freed in October 2025 as part of a ceasefire agreement in exchange for 20 Israeli hostages. Some of the released hostages reported torture and abuse during their captivity, with three telling Israeli media that they were sometimes beaten in retaliation for remarks by Ben-Gvir, who has publicly taken pride in worsening prison conditions for Palestinians. In response, Ben-Gvir dismissed the allegations as serving Hamas propaganda.
As the dust settles on Tomer-Yerushalmi’s resignation, the incident has left Israel grappling with deep questions about the rule of law, military accountability, and the treatment of prisoners in times of war. While the government insists on its commitment to legal standards, the events at Sde Teiman and the political reactions they have sparked suggest a society sharply divided over where the line should be drawn between security and justice.
For now, the resignation of Israel’s top military legal officer stands as a stark reminder of the challenges facing any institution trying to uphold the law in the midst of conflict—and of the high personal and political costs that can come with doing so.
