Tel Aviv [Israel]: An Israeli court on Monday extended the detention of former Military Advocate General Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, the army’s former top legal officer, for three more days amid an ongoing probe into the leak of a video allegedly showing Israeli soldiers abusing a Palestinian detainee.
Authorities argued that Tomer-Yerushalmi could potentially interfere with the investigation and pose a risk to judicial proceedings.
Tomer-Yerushalmi, who resigned on Friday, was arrested Sunday night after briefly disappearing along Tel Aviv’s coastline. Police were unable to locate her phone, raising suspicions that she may have staged a suicide attempt to destroy evidence. She underwent medical and psychological evaluations before being transferred to Neve Tirza Women’s Prison in Ramla.
Former IDF chief prosecutor Col. Matan Solomosh was also detained on suspicion of being aware of Tomer-Yerushalmi’s role in the leak and attempting to cover it up. His lawyer, Nati Simchoni, denied any wrongdoing, saying Solomosh only learned of the incident after the fact. His detention, too, was extended until Wednesday.
The leaked footage allegedly shows the abuse of a Palestinian detainee at the Sde Teiman military detention facility. The detainee was among those released to Gaza on October 13 as part of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. Earlier this year, five IDF reservists from the Force 100 Military Police unit were charged with assault and inflicting severe injury in connection with the case.
Honenu, a legal aid group representing two of the indicted soldiers, has called for the charges to be dropped, urging the Military Advocate General’s Office to “immediately annul the indictments.”
At Sunday’s weekly Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the case as “perhaps the most severe propaganda attack that the State of Israel has experienced since its establishment,” and called for an “independent and impartial investigation.”
Tomer-Yerushalmi faces multiple charges, including fraud, breach of trust, obstruction of justice, and abuse of office. Her attorney, Dori Klagsbald, argued that there was already extensive evidence from other suspects, making it unlikely that she could interfere with the probe.
“There is no reason to assume that someone who has not obstructed the investigation so far would do so now,” Klagsbald told the court.
Police informed the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court that at least seven more individuals are expected to be questioned.
Judge Shelley Kutin ordered that both Tomer-Yerushalmi and Solomosh remain in custody until Wednesday, granting a shorter extension than police had sought but agreeing that there was still a risk of interference.
The Sde Teiman facility, established in southern Israel after the Gaza war began, has held over 1,000 detainees from Gaza suspected of involvement in terrorist activity.
