The Daily Populous Tuesday November 4th, 2025 morning edition
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Israeli military's ex-top lawyer arrested over leak of video allegedly showing Palestinian detainee abuse

17 hours ago Share Save Sebastian Usher Middle East analyst, Jerusalem Share Save

IDF Major General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi resigned on Friday, admitting her role in leaking the video

The former top lawyer in the Israeli military has been arrested, as a political showdown deepens over the leaking of a video that allegedly shows severe abuse of a Palestinian detainee by Israeli soldiers. Maj Gen Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi resigned as the Military Advocate General of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) last week, saying that she took full responsibility for the leak. On Sunday, the story took a darker turn when she was reported as missing, with police mounting an hours-long search for her on a beach north of Tel Aviv. She was subsequently found alive and well, police said, but was then taken into custody.

The fallout from the leaked video is intensifying by the day. Broadcast in August 2024 on an Israeli news channel, the footage shows reserve soldiers at the Sde Teiman military base in southern Israel taking aside a detainee, then surrounding him with riot shields to block visibility while he was allegedly beaten and stabbed in the rectum with a sharp object. The detainee was treated for severe injuries. Five reservists were charged with aggravated abuse and causing serious bodily harm to the detainee. They have denied the charges and have not been named. On Sunday, four of the reservists wore black balaclavas to hide their faces as they appeared at a news conference outside the Supreme Court in Jerusalem along with their lawyers, who demanded the dismissal of their trial. Adi Keidar, a lawyer from the right-wing legal aid organisation Honenu, claimed his clients were subject to "to a faulty, biased and completely cooked-up legal process".

Anadolu via Getty Images The leaked surveillance video was filmed at the Sde Teiman military base in southern Israel

On Monday, it emerged the detainee at the centre of the case was released to Gaza in October as part of an exchange with Hamas of convicted prisoners and detainees held without charge by Israel for hostages held by Hamas since 7 October 2023. Last week, a criminal investigation was launched into the leaking of the video. Gen Tomer-Yerushalmi was put on leave while the inquiry took place. On Friday, Defence Minister Israel Katz said she would not be allowed to return to her post. Shortly after that, Gen Tomer-Yerushalmi resigned. In her resignation letter, she said she took full responsibility for any material that was released to the media from the unit. "I approved the release of material to the media in an attempt to counter false propaganda against the army's law enforcement authorities," she said. That is a reference to efforts by some right-wing political figures in Israel to claim that the allegations of severe abuse of the Palestinian detainee had been fabricated. She added: "It is our duty to investigate whenever there is reasonable suspicion of acts of violence against a detainee."

After her resignation, Katz issued a fierce condemnation of her conduct. "Anyone who spreads blood libels against IDF troops is unfit to wear the army's uniform," he said. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu echoed his defence minister's words on Sunday, saying that the incident at Sde Teiman was "perhaps the most severe public relations attack that the State of Israel has experienced since its establishment". Hours later, the first reports began appearing in the Israeli media that Gen Tomer-Yerushalmi was missing, sparking fears that a political scandal had taken a turn towards tragedy. A massive search effort was launched. Several hours later, she was found "safe and in good health" in the coastal area of Herzliya, Israeli police said. Overnight, a police spokesperson announced that two people had been arrested on suspicion of "leaking and other serious criminal offences" as part of an investigation. Israeli media reported that the pair were Gen Tomer-Yerushalmi and the former chief military prosecutor, Col Matan Solomosh.

Reuters Israeli forces mounted an hours-long search for Gen Tomer-Yerushalmi when she went missing on Sunday

KamaIsLife on November 3rd, 2025 at 20:20 UTC »

Funny how they punished the leaker and not the rapist. 🤔

RogerianBrowsing on November 3rd, 2025 at 18:05 UTC »

Abuse sure is a weird way to describe brutal gang rape that resulted in life changing injuries requiring surgery.

That said, blaming the government official who leaked the video showing some of the crimes perpetrated and calling it “blood libel” sure is on brand for these monsters.

4RCH43ON on November 3rd, 2025 at 17:57 UTC »

Just to be clear, she’s being persecuted for releasing the footage to counter the lies claiming the abuse never happened. But it clearly did and it’s even more sickening than you could imagine.

The detainee was surrounded by the accused with riot shields in an attempt to conceal the criminal abuse, then he was forcibly sodomized with a stick and stabbed in the rectum.

There video released to media proved the incident occurred, documenting the sickening barbarity of the accused reservists.

They should be unmasked, exposed and prosecuted for their heinous crimes, and she should be considered a witness in need of protection from her government, not a criminal of it.