TEL AVIV: Former Advocate General of the Israeli military, Major General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, was arrested on Sunday — hours after being reported missing — over her admitted role in leaking a video allegedly showing Israeli soldiers raping a Palestinian prisoner, The Times of Israel reported.
Tomer-Yerushalmi, who resigned last week from the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), confessed that she had approved the release of the footage in August last year. The leaked surveillance video, which surfaced on Israeli television, depicted soldiers taking a Palestinian detainee aside, surrounding him with riot gear, and assaulting him while blocking visibility.
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According to The Times of Israel, her family had earlier reported her missing, prompting a large-scale search operation. Her car was found abandoned at Hatzuk Beach near Tel Aviv, and local media claimed she had left behind a note described as a possible “suicide letter.” Authorities later located her along a beach in Herzliya, after which she was taken for a medical checkup and subsequently arrested.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reacted angrily to the video leak, calling it “the most serious public-relations attack against Israel” since its founding. “This has caused enormous reputational damage to Israel, the IDF, and our soldiers,” he said, demanding an independent investigation.
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The incident has sparked a criminal probe, resulting in charges against five soldiers accused of abusing the detainee. The case has also triggered protests from right-wing groups and a break-in at two military compounds by demonstrators opposing the inquiry.
Tomer-Yerushalmi defended her decision to leak the footage, claiming it was an effort to counter “propaganda” against the IDF’s legal department, which she said had been unfairly maligned during the Gaza conflict.