What the arrest of IDF legal chief Tomer-Yerushalmi reveals about Israel’s judicial power struggle
Over the past several days, Israel has been rocked by yet another judicial scandal, whose aftershocks are reenergizing fault lines across well-worn battlegrounds from the Judicial Reform fight.
IDF Military Advocate-General Maj.-Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi resigned on Friday after acknowledging she was responsible for the leaking of a video purportedly showing IDF soldiers violently abusing a prisoner, as well as the following cover-up.
While ultimately being another proof that Israel’s judicial system is robust enough to investigate even senior IDF officers, the highly complex story touches on quandaries posed by the Gaza War as well as numerous aspects plaguing Israeli politics over the past years.
These include the question of what to do with detainees from Gaza; long-standing allegations of mistreatment of Palestinian detainees; claims that the judicial system is seeking approval from abroad instead of defending Israeli soldiers; deep mistrust between the military leadership and the right-wing government; and lingering conflicts between the government and the judicial system.
What to do with captured terrorists?
It all began on July 5, 2024, when a prisoner in the Sde Teiman facility in southern Israel was found with severe injuries, including a rectal tear, and taken to a hospital. He reportedly was a member of Hamas’ elite Nukhba unit, which led the assault on Oct. 7, though this hasn’t been officially confirmed yet.
The nature of the injuries raised suspicions of sodomy and sexual abuse, and ultimately, an indictment was filed against five reserve soldiers, including two officers.
This, however, did not include charges of sexual abuse but “only” severe violence.
חשיפה של כתב המשפט של חדשות 12, גיא פלג, הערב ב"מהדורה המרכזית": כך תועדו החשודים בפרשת שדה תימן | במצ"ח ממשיכים לחקור את החיילים שנעצרו בחשד להתעללות במחבל חמאס, והערב פורסם התיעוד שעומד במרכז החקירה • כפי שניתן לראות בתיעוד ממצלמות האבטחה במקום, המחבל נלקח הצידה בידי לוחמי כוח… pic.twitter.com/iwgSnq8VHm
— שאולי🎗️🏳️🌈 ShAuLi (@Shaulirena) August 6, 2024
When masked military police showed up at the detention facility to arrest the nine suspected soldiers several weeks later, soldiers stationed at the base confronted them and refused to cooperate.
This caused a right-wing mob led by three active lawmakers to descend on Sde Teiman, some of whom even breached the entrance gate to demand the release of the nine soldiers.
This first stage of the scandal highlighted problems of violence in Israel’s detention facilities, which were exacerbated after Oct. 7, when reserve soldiers were confronted with Hamas “monsters,” some of whom were captured in southern Israel during the horrific massacre.
Sde Teiman was one of three detention facilities where prisoners from Gaza, including terrorists but also civilians detained during the fighting, were held by the IDF. After allegations of abuse and a High Court petition, it was announced that the base was being phased out of use.
However, the problem of what to do with captured terrorists has a long history, and calls for the death penalty have surged since Oct. 7.
On Nov. 3, 2025, the Israeli Knesset passed a law in its first reading that would institute the death penalty for terrorists, meaning the issue will stay in the headlines for the coming months.
In addition, the scandalous storming of an IDF base by Knesset Members highlights the worrying loss of trust between some far-right groups and the military, respect for which used to be the one common denominator in Israeli society (except for ultra-Orthodox Jews, and Arabs).
The leak, the cover-up and a fake suicide attempt
The next stage in this drama came when the whole incident received worldwide attention after parts of a longer video, taken from surveillance footage showing the group of soldiers beating the detainee, were leaked to the press in August 2024.
The military said the footage was misleadingly cut from two separate incidents.
We now know that Tomer-Yerushalmi personally ordered the leak, allegedly even specifying the type of material and the outlet to whom it should be delivered.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that this incident and the video caused “immense damage to the image of the State of Israel and the IDF, to our soldiers. This is perhaps the most severe public relations attack that the State of Israel has experienced since its establishment.”
Given the serious impact of the leak, one might have expected a thorough investigation of how video footage from an IDF base reached the public.
But Tomer-Yerushalmi reportedly instructed her deputy to “look into” the issue before stating to both the Knesset and the High Court that nothing of consequence was found and no official investigation was forthcoming.
On Oct. 29, 2025, the office of Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara announced that civilian police and state prosecution would investigate the leak, after a routine lie detector test had revealed evidence of the cover-up.
Despite initially not being implicated as the main suspect, Tomer-Yerushalmi went on leave and then resigned two days later.
Former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant wrote on 𝕏 that Tomer-Yerushalmi also lied to his face when he asked her about the investigation in 2024: “In her response, as is now clear to all, the Military Advocate General deliberately lied and said that ‘the investigation is prolonged because dozens of people were exposed to the video.’”
“The Military Advocate General's letter of resignation is a mockery and proof that she has not internalized the gravity of her actions,” he added.
Then, the story took a wild turn.
Over the past days, right-wing politicians had begun accusing her of treason and demanding that she be immediately arrested.
This coincided with the anniversary of the murder of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin by a right-wing fanatic, causing left-wing leaders to accuse right-wing leaders of potentially deadly incitement.
With the atmosphere at a fever pitch on Sunday evening, Tomer-Yerushalmi didn’t show for a planned meeting with her attorney, and her daughter found an apparent suicide note. Police launched a large-scale search, including helicopters and boats, which discovered her car, abandoned near a beach.
Tomer-Yerushalmi was eventually found in the water – alive, clothed, and unharmed. She was detained and later placed under three days’ arrest.
The following morning, Israeli media reported that police suspect the “suicide attempt” was an elaborate ruse to give Tomer-Yerushalmi a plausible excuse to “lose” her phone, including the incriminating evidence.
Gov't vs judicial branch
The incident also proved a new flashpoint for disputes between right-wing politicians and the judicial system, including the military’s judicial branch.
Many politicians have accused the judicial system of being “power mad” and lacking oversight, which was one of the main motivations for the attempted Judicial Reform.
The fact that Tomer-Yerushalmi wasn’t immediately arrested after acknowledging responsibility for the leak provided more ammunition for this charge.
Right-wing parties have also blamed the judicial system for being overly eager to prosecute IDF soldiers in an effort to curry favor with international institutions instead of backing them.
In addition, they accused the Military Advocate-General of limiting the IDF’s freedom of action on numerous occasions, to the point of endangering soldiers’ lives, out of an allegedly exaggerated concern for the legality of the military’s actions.
Defense Minister Israel Katz described the video and its leak as a “blood libel against IDF soldiers” and called for Tomer-Yerushalmi to be sacked from her post and to cancel her ranks, which is outside of his authority.
However, Tomer-Yerushalmi resigned several days after the Attorney-General announced an investigation of the leak, and in her resignation letter, sharply attacked coalition leaders.
“The IDF is a moral and law-abiding army. Therefore, even in a prolonged and painful war, there is an obligation to investigate suspicions of unlawful acts,” she wrote.
“It does not weaken or harm the IDF,” she continued, claiming there had been “an illegitimate and false campaign of delegitimization” against her unit, “all because we have stood guard over the rule of law in the IDF.”
The incitement included “severe allegations suggesting that we favor terrorists over our own troops,” she wrote.
“I approved the release of material to the media in an attempt to counter the false propaganda directed against the military law enforcement authorities. I bear full responsibility for any material that was released to the media from within the unit,” she stated.
Yet another aspect of this story, which could intensify in the coming days, is the conflict between the government and the Attorney-General.
Justice Minister Yariv Levin alleged that the investigation’s announcement by the A-G was timed to coincide with the preliminary passage of a bill that would split the A-G’s duties.
Levin, one of the main forces behind the campaign to fire the A-G, ordered her to refrain from handling the investigation into the leak, insinuating Baharav-Miara had known and participated in Tomer-Yerushalmi’s cover-up.
At this time, the exact goal of Tomer-Yerushalmi’s leak of the video footage, and whether she was involved in its apparent misleading editing, remains unclear.
The potentially explosive answers to these questions could determine the next elections, while also significantly impacting Israel’s standing in the world.
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Hanan Lischinsky has a Master’s degree in Middle East & Israel studies from Heidelberg University in Germany, where he spent part of his childhood and youth. He finished High School in Jerusalem and served in the IDF’s Intelligence Corps. Hanan and his wife live near Jerusalem, and he joined ALL ISRAEL NEWS in August 2023.
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