Israeli military’s ex-top lawyer arrested over leak of video allegedly showing Palestinian detainee abuse

The Israeli army’s former top lawyer has been arrested as the political showdown deepens over the leak of a video purportedly showing violent abuse of a Palestinian detainee by Israeli soldiers.

Major General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi resigned from his position as Military Chief Prosecutor of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) last week, saying he took full responsibility for the leak.

The story took an even darker turn Sunday when he was reported missing as police spent hours searching for him on a beach north of Tel Aviv.

He was later found alive and well but was later taken into custody, police said.

The effects of the leaked video are intensifying day by day.

Footage aired on an Israeli news channel in August 2024 showed reservists at the Sde Teiman military base in southern Israel pulling a detainee aside, then surrounding him with riot shields to block visibility as he was allegedly beaten and stabbed in the rectum with a sharp object.

The seriously injured person was later treated.

Five reservists were later charged with aggravated harassment and causing serious bodily harm to a detainee. They denied the accusations and their names were not disclosed.

On Sunday, four of the reservists wore black ski masks to hide their faces at a news conference outside the Supreme Court in Jerusalem with their lawyers demanding their hearings be dismissed.

Adi Keidar, a lawyer for right-wing legal aid organization Honenu, claimed his clients had been subjected to a “faulty, biased and completely fabricated legal process”.

On Monday, it was revealed that the detainee at the center of the case was released to Gaza in October as part of an exchange with Hamas of prisoners and detainees held without charge by Israel in exchange for hostages held by Hamas since October 7, 2023.

A criminal investigation was launched into the leak of the video last week.

General Tomer-Yerushalmi has been placed on leave while the investigation continues.

On Friday, Defense Minister Israel Katz said he would not be allowed to return to his job.

Shortly after this, General Tomer-Yerushalmi resigned.

In his resignation letter, he said he took full responsibility for any material released to the media by the unit.

“I approved the release of the material to the media in order to counter false propaganda against the military’s law enforcement agencies,” he said.

This is a reference to efforts by some right-wing political figures in Israel to claim that allegations of severe abuse against the Palestinian detainee are fabricated.

He added: “When there is reasonable suspicion of acts of violence against a detainee, it is our duty to investigate.”

Following his resignation, Katz harshly condemned his behavior.

“Anyone who spreads blood libel against IDF troops is unfit to wear the army’s uniform,” he said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu echoed the defense minister’s words on Sunday, saying the incident in Sde Teiman was “perhaps the most severe public relations attack the State of Israel has experienced since its founding.”

Hours later, the first reports of General Tomer-Yerushalmi’s disappearance began to appear in the Israeli media, sparking fears that the political scandal had turned into a tragedy.

A massive search operation was launched. He was found “safe and well” in the coastal area of ​​Herzliya a few hours later, Israeli police said.

A police spokesman announced overnight that two people had been arrested on suspicion of “exfiltration and other serious offences” as part of the investigation.

Israeli media reported the duo as General Tomer-Yerushalmi and former military chief prosecutor Colonel Matan Solomosh.

The Sde Teiman incident became a lightning rod for the division between left and right in Israel.

On the right, the leak of the video is denounced as an insult to the Israeli military, almost amounting to an act of treason.

After Israeli military police went to Sde Teiman to question 11 reservists about the July 2024 incident, far-right protesters, including at least three lawmakers from Netanyahu’s ruling coalition, entered the facility to show their support.

On the left, General Tomer-Yerushalmi’s decision to allow the footage to be released is seen as the only time he fulfilled the responsibilities of his position.

The video is seen by the left as concrete evidence supporting multiple reports of mistreatment of Palestinian detainees since the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attacks on Israel.

Last October, a report by the UN commission of inquiry alleged that thousands of child and adult detainees in Gaza “were subjected to widespread and systematic abuse, physical and psychological violence, and sexual and gender-based violence amounting to torture, which is a war crime and a crime against humanity, and rape and other sexual violence, which is a war crime.”

The Israeli government said it rejected accusations of widespread ill-treatment and torture of detainees and insisted it was “fully committed to international legal standards.” It also said it conducts thorough investigations into each complaint.