The 2 have been apprehended by Israel Police late Sunday night time, as a part of the investigation into the leak of a video documenting the abuse of a Palestinian prisoner on the Sde Teiman detention facility.
Tel Aviv Justice of the Peace’s Court docket Decide Shelly Kutin on Monday prolonged the detention of former IDF army advocate common Maj. Gen. (res.) Yifat Tomer Yerushalmi, till Wednesday, voiced considerations that she would possibly impede the probe into the case in opposition to her.
Yerushalmi is being investigated for allegedly leaking a video referring to theSde Teiman Palestinian prisoner abuse case, in a dramatic determination displaying the persevering with fall of one of many IDF’s high officers till simply days in the past.
Whereas the state prosecution had sought 5 further days of detention to query Tomer-Yerushalmi relating to her function within the leak, her protection legal professionals argued that 5 of the opposite suspects have already been questioned and that lots of the textual content messages which incriminate her are already within the possession of the police once they seized these different suspects’ telephones.
Additional, the protection legal professionals argued that she has not tried to contact the opposite suspects to get them to impede the probe for over every week since her authorized scenario turned clear to her, an indication that she won’t accomplish that going ahead, which might help releasing her from detention.
Nonetheless, the police identified that it’s attainable that all the mysterious occasions surrounding her disappearance on Sunday night time might have been an elaborate scheme to destroy her telephone within the Mediterranean Sea, a serious type of obstruction of the investigation.
Protesters collect outdoors Sde Teiman detention facility after a few of them broke in, after Israeli army police arrived on the website as a part of an investigation into the suspected abuse of a Palestinian detainee, close to Beersheba, in southern Israel, July 29, 2024. (credit score: REUTERS/AMIR COHEN)
The detention extension listening to for Tomer Yerushalmi additionally includes former chief army prosecutor Col. Matan Solomesh.
The 2 have been apprehended by Israel Police late Sunday night time, as a part of the investigation into the leak of a video documenting the abuse of a Palestinian prisoner on the Sde Teiman detention facility.
Tomer-Yerushalmi is more likely to be questioned on suspicion of obstructing an investigation, submitting a false doc to the Excessive Court docket of Justice, fraud and breach of belief, abuse of authority, and concealment of proof.
Solomesh is anticipated to be questioned on suspicion of obstruction of an investigation, fraud, and breach of belief.
Tomer-Yerushalmi, who admitted to leaking the video and introduced her resignation from the publish on Friday, was lacking for a number of hours on Sunday night time. Police launched a search after shedding contact along with her because the morning; she failed to indicate up for scheduled conferences.
Her automobile was discovered deserted on the seashore, and the standing of her private telephone stays unclear. Within the night, she was positioned on Herzliya Seaside and referred for psychiatric analysis.
Nationwide Safety Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir (Otzma Yehudit) mentioned that Israel Jail Service Chief Commissioner Kobi Yaakobi had ordered that she be held in isolation beneath shut supervision, monitored by guards and cameras.
Releasing the video to counter ‘propaganda’
In her resignation letter on Friday to IDF chief of employees Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir, she admitted that she had authorised “the discharge of fabric to the media in an try and counter false propaganda in opposition to legislation enforcement officers within the military.”
“I take full duty for any materials that was launched to the media from inside the unit. From that duty additionally stems my determination to finish my tenure as Army Advocate Common,” she added.
Final week, a felony investigation was opened into the leak of a video allegedly displaying the abuse of a Gazan detainee on the Sde Teiman base final yr, and that “the involvement of people inside the Army Advocate Common’s Workplace is being examined.”
In July 2024, a Palestinian detainee at Sde Teiman was allegedly subjected to extreme abuse by 5 reservist troopers. In accordance with the indictment, the detainee -who was sure and blindfolded – suffered damaged ribs, a punctured lung, and accidents according to sexual assault after troopers inserted a pointy object close to his rectum.
The army police arrested 9 troopers in reference to the incident, sparking riots and break-ins on the base by far-right supporters and a number of other Knesset members who sought to dam the arrests.
One month later, in August 2024, a leaked video from inside Sde Teiman – broadcast by Channel 12 – appeared to indicate troopers surrounding and abusing the detainee. The footage reignited outrage domestically and overseas, prompting a felony probe and a public reckoning over the therapy of Palestinian prisoners.
5 reservists have been indicted in February 2025 for aggravated abuse and severe assault.
