Jerusalem, 2 November, 2025 (TPS-IL) — Lawmakers from the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee will meet together with the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee on Monday to discuss an investigation into a controversial leaked video that led to the resignation of the army’s top legal officer, the Military Advocate General.
In his remarks at the beginning of Sunday’s weekly Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the incident “perhaps the most severe propaganda attack that the State of Israel has experienced since its establishment. I don’t remember one that was so focused. This requires an independent and impartial investigation, and I expect that one will also be carried out.”
Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, the israel Defense Forces’ top legal officer, resigned on Friday after admitting she approved the August release of the video, which appeared to show reservist soldiers surrounding a Palestinian detainee lying face down on the floor, shielding him with riot gear at the Sde Teiman detention facility in July 2024. The detainee was later hospitalized with injuries and six defendants were sentenced.
“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. From this responsibility also stems my decision to conclude my tenure as military advocate general,” Tomer-Yerushalmi wrote in her resignation letter.
She had been on leave since police opened a criminal investigation earlier this week, and is expected to be questioned under caution in the coming days. Police are also examining whether other officials in her office were involved in distributing the footage, which was broadcast by Channel 12 in August 2024. Earlier this year, military prosecutors indicted five reserve soldiers for the alleged abuse.
Israeli Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara on Sunday rejected what she called an unprecedented attempt by Justice Minister Yariv Levin to sideline her from a politically charged criminal investigation. Levin announced late Saturday that Baharav-Miara would not be allowed to take part in the investigation and said he intended to appoint another official to handle the case.
Levin accused Baharav-Miara of misleading the Supreme Court in September, after her office informed the justices that the investigation had run its course. The Attorney General’s office said there was no basis for continuing criminal proceedings over the leak, citing the slim likelihood of identifying the source.
The Sde Teiman facility, established in southern Israel after the outbreak of the Gaza war, has held more than 1,000 detainees from Gaza suspected of involvement in terrorist activity.
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