The former top lawyer in the Israeli military has been arrested amid a widening political confrontation over the leak of a video allegedly showing Israeli soldiers severely abusing a Palestinian detainee.
Maj Gen Yifat Tomer Yerushalmi, who resigned last week as the Military Advocate General of the Israel Defense Forces, was reported missing on Sunday before being found alive on a beach north of Tel Aviv.
She was later taken into custody along with former chief military prosecutor Col Matan Solomosh on suspicion of leaking and other serious criminal offences.
The arrests follow the broadcast of a surveillance video last year showing reserve soldiers at the Sde Teiman military base in southern Israel allegedly beating and sexually assaulting a Palestinian detainee.
The footage, aired by an Israeli news channel in August 2024, provoked widespread outrage and led to charges against five reservists, who have denied wrongdoing.
The detainee was later released to Gaza as part of a prisoner exchange deal between Israel and Hamas in October. The video has since become a flashpoint in Israeli politics, exposing divisions within the military and government over accountability and the treatment of detainees.
Tomer Yerushalmi said in her resignation letter that she authorised limited media releases to counter what she called “false propaganda” against military law enforcement. Defence Minister Israel Katz accused her of spreading “blood libels against IDF troops” and declared her unfit for service. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the leak as one of the most damaging public relations crises in Israel’s history.
Police have not confirmed the charges against Tomer Yerushalmi or Solomosh, but the investigation has deepened tensions between military officials and right-wing politicians who claim the abuse allegations were fabricated.
