Former Israeli Military Chief Lawyer Imprisoned After Leaking Abuse Video and Mysterious Disappearance

Major General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, who served as the Israeli army's chief legal counsel until last week, now finds herself imprisoned and at the center of a national controversy following a series of dramatic events that included her sudden resignation, temporary disappearance, and eventual discovery on a Tel Aviv beach.

The controversy erupted when Tomer-Yerushalmi admitted to approving the leak of surveillance footage documenting alleged severe abuse against a Palestinian detainee at an Israeli military prison. This footage revealed Israeli soldiers allegedly sexually abusing a Palestinian prisoner.

Her decision to leak the video in 2023 was intended to highlight the gravity of the allegations under investigation by her office. However, this action provoked intense backlash from Israel's hardline political leadership, ultimately leading to her resignation under pressure last week.

Following her resignation, Tomer-Yerushalmi left a cryptic note for her family and abandoned her vehicle near a beach, prompting concerns about her wellbeing and triggering an extensive search operation that included military drones. She was discovered alive on Sunday evening, but her reappearance sparked additional hostility.

Right-wing television personality Yinon Magal, an ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, posted on X with a winking emoji: "We can resume the lynch." When it was revealed that one of Tomer-Yerushalmi's phones was missing, conservative politicians and commentators began accusing her of staging a suicide attempt to destroy potential evidence.

This incident demonstrates how two years of devastating conflict have failed to heal Israel's deep societal divisions that existed even before Hamas' October 7, 2023 attack. Tomer-Yerushalmi joins numerous high-ranking security officials who have departed or been removed from their positions, typically replaced by individuals considered loyal to Netanyahu's hardline government.

At a court hearing on Monday, the judge extended Tomer-Yerushalmi's detention until Wednesday on suspicion of fraud, breach of trust, and obstruction of justice. While the investigation continues, she remains held at a women's correctional facility in central Israel.

Israeli media also reported the arrest of former chief military prosecutor Colonel Matan Solomesh in connection with the leak investigation. The prime minister's office has declined to comment on Solomesh's detention.

The outrage surrounding the leaked video reveals Israel's profound polarization and has diverted public attention from the actual abuse allegations toward the leak itself.

According to the indictment against the accused soldiers, the assault occurred on July 5, 2024, at the Sde Teiman military prison. The Associated Press has investigated allegations of inhumane treatment at Sde Teiman predating those shown in the surveillance footage.

The video, broadcast by Israeli news outlets, shows soldiers escorting a detainee to an area they shielded with barriers, apparently attempting to conceal their actions. The indictment states that the soldiers assaulted the Palestinian prisoner and sodomized him with a knife, causing multiple injuries.

A medical professional familiar with the case, speaking anonymously due to safety concerns, reported that the detainee arrived at a civilian hospital in life-threatening condition with blunt trauma to his abdomen and chest, as well as fractured ribs. The prisoner underwent surgery for a perforated rectum before being returned to Sde Teiman days later. The medical worker described it as the most extreme abuse case they had encountered from that facility.

When military police arrived at Sde Teiman in July to apprehend soldiers suspected of abuse, they clashed with protesters opposing the arrests. Subsequently, hundreds of violent protesters breached the detention center.

In her resignation letter, Tomer-Yerushalmi explained that she exposed evidence of the abuse to counter perceptions that the military was unfairly targeting its own soldiers. She stated this perception posed a danger to military law enforcement, citing the detention center break-in as evidence.

She wrote that the military had a "duty to investigate when there is reasonable suspicion of violence against a detainee. Unfortunately, this basic understanding - that there are actions which must never be taken even against the vilest of detainees - no longer convinces everyone."

The Palestinian detainee who was the subject of the alleged abuse was released to Gaza last month as part of a prisoner exchange, according to documents from the military prosecutor's office obtained by the AP. The case remains pending before the military court.

Yohanan Plesner, president of the Israel Democracy Institute think tank, noted that three separate legal issues must be addressed in Israel's investigation into the Sde Teiman incidents: evidence of Israeli soldiers abusing Palestinian detainees, whether Israeli civilians including parliament members attempted to obstruct the investigation by breaking into the military base, and whether Tomer-Yerushalmi allegedly committed various offenses to undermine the investigation into the video leak.

The heated rhetoric of recent days resembles the atmosphere in Israel immediately before the October 7 attack that initiated the Gaza war, when the public was deeply divided over Netanyahu's judicial reform efforts.

Plesner suggested that the brief concern over Tomer-Yerushalmi's welfare should serve as a "stop sign" for Israeli society, particularly for commentators who personally attacked her.

He noted the symbolic timing of Tomer-Yerushalmi appearing in court while the Israeli government held its official memorial ceremony marking the 30th anniversary of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's assassination, widely regarded as Israel's lowest point in terms of social division and incitement. Many fear the weekend's dramatic events foreshadow Israel's return to a similar period of internal conflict.

"It was very sad to see how the internal discourse can bring about such potentially tragic outcome on a personal level," Plesner said. "There's a way how to debate our differences in a democratic society."