Israel arrests ex-military legal chief after leaked abuse video

JERUSALEM: Israeli police arrested former military advocate general Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, the national security minister said on Monday (Nov 3), following a scandal that erupted after she leaked a video appearing to show soldiers abusing a Palestinian detainee.

Tomer-Yerushalmi disappeared for several hours on Sunday after she announced her resignation, with speculation swirling in the press of a possible suicide attempt.

According to a copy of her resignation letter published by Israeli media on Friday, Tomer-Yerushalmi acknowledged that her office had released the video to the media last year.

Five reservists were formally charged since the video was leaked in 2024. Among the charges they faced was using a "sharp object" to stab the detainee near the rectum.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir on Monday said on Telegram: "It was agreed that in light of last night's events, the prison service would act with extra vigilance to ensure the detainee's safety in the detention centre where she has been placed in custody."

In the statement, he emphasised the "importance of ... conducting the investigation professionally in order to uncover the full truth regarding the case that led to a blood libel against IDF (military) soldiers".

According to Israeli media, a Tel Aviv court ordered Tomer-Yerushalmi's remand in custody until noon on Wednesday.

Public broadcaster Kan reported that she was suspected of "fraud and breach of trust, abuse of office, obstruction of justice and disclosure of information by a public servant".

She is implicated along with another member of the military prosecution.

On Friday, the army announced that Tomer-Yerushalmi had resigned from her post pending an investigation into leaked footage taken at the Sde Teiman military base last year.

The case began in August 2024 when Israel's Channel 12 broadcast footage from Sde Teiman, which has been used to hold Palestinians taken during the war in Gaza.

"SEVERE VIOLENCE"

The surveillance camera footage at the time indicated that soldiers had committed illicit acts, without explicitly showing it, as it appeared to take place behind troops holding up shields.

The video was picked up by several media outlets and the case triggered international outrage and protests within Israel.

The Israeli military said in February that it had filed charges against five reservist soldiers connected with mistreatment at Sde Teiman.

The statement said they were charged with "acting against the detainee with severe violence, including stabbing the detainee's bottom with a sharp object, which had penetrated near the detainee's rectum".

It added "the acts of violence have caused severe physical injury to the detainee, including cracked ribs, a punctured lung and an inner rectal tear".

The statement said that the abuse took place on Jul 5, 2024 during a search of the detainee, who was taken to an area adjacent to the prison, blindfolded and handcuffed.

It mentions numerous pieces of evidence gathered during the investigation, including footage from surveillance cameras and medical documents.

The incident sparked an international outcry and piled pressure on Israel's political and military leaders during the Gaza war, triggered by Hamas's attack on Oct 7, 2023.

"The exposure of the brutal abuse ... at the Sde Teiman detention site dealt a heavy blow not only to Israel's image but also to its legitimacy and that of the Israel Defense Forces," wrote the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper in an editorial on Sunday.

As Tomer-Yerushalmi's arrest was announced on Monday, Channel 12 reported that police suspected that she had had no intention of taking her own life and that she had instead staged the disappearance in order to get rid of her phone, which may have contained compromising information.

Some Israeli media reported that she left behind a letter which could be interpreted as a suicide note.

In October 2024, a UN commission found thousands of detainees were subjected to "widespread and systematic abuse" in Israeli military camps and detention facilities that amounted to a "war crime and crime against humanity of torture".

Israel called the accusations "outrageous", adding it was "fully committed to international legal standards regarding the treatment of detainees".