Israel’s top military legal officer, Major General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, has been arrested after admitting to leaking a video showing Israeli soldiers allegedly assaulting a Palestinian detainee and misleading the country’s Supreme Court about her role in releasing it. The arrest of the military advocate general has triggered intense debate about the rule of law, accountability for abuses against Palestinians, and Israel’s credibility before international courts.
Tomer-Yerushalmi had announced her resignation last week, saying in a letter that she authorised publication of the footage to counter growing attacks on military investigators and prosecutors handling the case. Right-wing politicians and commentators had hailed the accused soldiers as “heroes,” denounced the investigators as traitors, and demanded the charges be dropped.
According to Israeli media, Tomer-Yerushalmi is being held on suspicion of fraud, breach of trust, abuse of office, obstruction of justice, and unauthorised disclosure of official information. Her detention comes amid growing pressure from far-right groups, who accuse her of undermining Israel’s image by prosecuting soldiers involved in cases of alleged abuse.
The controversy stems from a July 2024 raid by prosecutors on the Sde Teiman military detention centre, a facility infamous for torture and mistreatment. Eleven soldiers were detained for questioning over the violent assault of a Palestinian detainee from Gaza. The indictment described extreme brutality, including anal rape, which left the victim hospitalised with broken ribs, a punctured lung, and severe internal injuries.
Tomer-Yerushalmi opened an investigation, drawing fierce backlash from government officials and far-right politicians who claimed her actions had “damaged Israel’s global standing.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the fallout, calling the case “perhaps the most severe public relations attack the state of Israel has experienced since its establishment.”
Following the soldiers’ initial detention, a mob led by far-right activists, including a minister and two Knesset members, stormed the Sde Teiman base demanding the case be dropped. In August 2024, amid mounting protests, Tomer-Yerushalmi leaked the video of the assault, later explaining it was meant “to debunk false propaganda against army law enforcement bodies.”
Days later, five soldiers were charged with aggravated abuse and causing serious bodily harm, though none are currently in custody or under legal restrictions. According to Haaretz, Tomer-Yerushalmi later declined to pursue other investigations into possible war crimes by Israeli forces due to the intense political and public pressure she faced.
Despite extensive documentation of torture and abuse in Israel’s detention system, there has been only one conviction of an Israeli soldier for assaulting Palestinians during the war. Dozens of Palestinians have died in custody, yet no soldiers have faced charges for civilian deaths in Gaza, including high-profile incidents such as the killing of paramedics and aid workers from the World Central Kitchen.
As reports surfaced identifying her as the source of the leaked video, online threats and public harassment against Tomer-Yerushalmi intensified. On Sunday, panic spread after her partner reported her missing and her car was found abandoned near a Tel Aviv beach with a note inside. She was later found alive, but the attacks resumed almost immediately. Right-wing commentator Yinon Magal posted on X, “We can proceed with the lynching,” adding a winking emoji. Protesters soon gathered outside her home, chanting “we will give you no peace,” while Defence Minister Israel Katz accused her of “spreading blood libels.”
The case highlights deepening divisions over the balance between national security and the rule of law. Traditionally, Israel’s judiciary and military legal system have been viewed as essential to preventing international courts from intervening in alleged war crimes. Under international legal standards, a country demonstrating independent accountability mechanisms is less likely to face external prosecution.
“Don’t they understand we had no choice?” Tomer-Yerushalmi reportedly told colleagues weeks ago, as quoted by investigative journalist Ronen Bergman in Yedioth Ahronoth. “The only way to address the wave of international legal proceedings is by proving we can investigate ourselves.”
Professor Yagil Levy of the Open University of Israel noted that many Israelis now view the military advocate general’s role as one of shielding soldiers from foreign prosecution rather than upholding justice. “The law is not upheld as a value in itself but as a defence against international tribunals,” he said.
Levy added that during the ongoing war in Gaza, the advocate general’s office gave the army a “free hand,” particularly in airstrikes that caused unprecedented civilian casualties. “This reflects a far weaker commitment to international law,” he said. “Some on the right even claim Israel is exempt from respecting it and have begun offering religious justifications for that view.”