Israel has arrested Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, the nation's former top military lawyer, after she admitted to leaking footage showing Israeli soldiers sexually abusing a Gaza detainee at the Sde Teiman detention center. Tomer-Yerushalmi, who resigned Friday as military advocate general, said she released the video to counter "false propaganda" and insisted on the need to investigate alleged abuses, stating that some acts "must not be committed, even against the most despicable of detainees," per the Washington Post.
The footage, first aired by Israel's Channel 12, showed masked soldiers leading a blindfolded prisoner away from a group of prone detainees, with later scenes obscured by shields and a barking dog. According to a person familiar with the medical file, the Gaza detainee required surgery for a "rectal perforation" and showed other signs of trauma. The incident has fueled concerns among human rights groups about widespread abuse of Palestinian prisoners, with advocates citing reports of beatings, starvation, and deaths in Israeli custody.
Despite Tomer-Yerushalmi's prosecution of the soldiers involved—five reservists were indicted for severe injury wrought by violence and abuse, though not for rape—critics say she largely ignored similar complaints throughout the war. Tomer-Yerushalmi's arrest has divided opinion in Israel, with the government and right-wing politicians accusing her of damaging the nation's reputation and undermining the military. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz condemned the leak, with Katz labeling it "blood libel" and promising to strip her of her rank. Meanwhile, human rights groups and left-leaning commentators argue the real issue is the underlying abuse, not the exposure of it.
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Tomer-Yerushalmi, who was arrested Sunday evening, is being detained through at least Wednesday on suspicion of charges of fraud, obstruction of justice, and breach of trust, per the AP. The Times of Israel describes the "frantic" search for her over the weekend after she reportedly left what sounded like a suicide note for her family and "was unreachable for several hours." She was finally tracked down at a beach in Herzliya.
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