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 subsequently treated for severe injuries. Five reservists were subsequently 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 organization Honenu, claimed his clients were subject to 'a faulty, biased and completely cooked-up legal process.'
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. 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, citing the need to counter false propaganda against the army's law enforcement authorities.
Following her resignation, Defense Minister Israel Katz condemned her conduct, stating that 'Anyone who spreads blood libels against IDF troops is unfit to wear the army's uniform.'
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu echoed his defense minister's words on Sunday, emphasizing the severity of the incident.
Hours later, reports began to surface that Gen Tomer-Yerushalmi was missing, prompting fears of a political scandal taking a tragic turn. She was later located safe and in good health.
The Sde Teiman incident continues to incite political division in Israel, with differing views on the implications of the leaked footage and the treatment of detainees.
